Prefented to
The Cornell University, 1869,
Goldwin Smith, M. A. Oxon.,
Regius Profeffor of Hittory in the
Univerfity of Oxford.
Cornell University Library
UG460 .V79 1860
An essay on the military architecture of
olin
3 1924 032 641 619
The original of tiiis book is in
tine Cornell University Library.
There are no known copyright restrictions in
the United States on the use of the text.
http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924032641619
AN ESSAY
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AN ESSAY
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^-^i^ E. flOLLET-LE-DUC,
M. MACDERMOTT, Esq.
ARCHITECT.
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J. H. AND J. PARKER.
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ADVERTISEMENT.
rFHE work now offered to English readers lias already
attained an European reputation in its original lan-
guage. The accomplished Author has thrown entirely-
new light on an interesting subject, and has brought to
bear upon it not only the results of his great experience
as an architect, but also shews a thorough knowledge of
the principles of engineering, and great research as an
antiquary. The remains of our ancient castles will no
longer be considered merely as picturesque ruins, but
as objects of careful study, worthy of minute examin-
ation in order to discover not only the age when each
part was built, but also the special purpose for which
it was built with a view to the defence of the castle or
town. That part of the work which relates to the hoard-
ing, or wooden constructions to assist in the defence
of the castle, is entirely new, and explains many things
which were previously quite incomprehensible. The
Author pays a just tribute to the memory of Eichard
CoeuT-de-Lion, as not only a brave warrior, but also an
accomplished engineer, in advance of his age, shewing
great ability and skill in the construction of the Chateau-
Gaillard ; and this portion of the work cannot fail to be
VI ADVERTISEMENT,
interesting to English readers. It also affords another
instance of the valuable assistance which a knowledge of
Medieval Architecture is calculated to render to History.
A great deal of medieval history is hardly intelligible
without it, and the successive changes in the modes of
warfare as developed in this work explain many im-
portant passages, especially in the wars between France
and England. We now see some of the causes why the
English were always successful at one period and the
French at another.
The object of the Publishers in producing this trans-
lation is to continue their series of works on Medieval
Architecture : they have already illustrated the Churches
and the Houses of our ancestors, and the present work
illustrates the Castles, with the modes of attacking and
defending them. It is intended to follow this up with
another volume specially devoted to the History of the
Castles of England, which they at first thought of having
incorporated with the present work, but found thast it
was hardly practicable to do so, and that the subject
required separate treatment.
CONTENTS.
Inteoditction
The Visigoths in the Fifth Century
The Barbariaas imitated the Eomans
"Wooden Eamparts of the Celts
The Eoman Testudo
The Eoman Camps
Wooden Towers on Eoman "Walls
Eoman "Walls of Towns
The Visigoth Fortifications
Towers at Carcassonne
Tower with Outworks
Fortifications of Towns
Eoman Towns .
Visigoth Towns
Eoman Fortifications
The Tower .
The Eat
Attacks of the German Tribes
The Battering-ram used
The Battering-ram used
in the Tenth Century
in the Eleventh Century
Improvements after the First Crusades
Detached Forts introduced in the Twelfth Century
Advantages of Detached Forts .
Frequency of Sorties
The Norman Castles
Activity of Defenders l^ecessary
The Engines of "War
The Mine
Siege of Carcassonne in 1240
The Battering-ram in the Thirteenth Century
PAGE
1,2
3
3
4,5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14, 15
. 16
17—22
19, 20
. 21
23,24
. 25
. 26
. 27
. 28
. 29
. 30
. 31
. 32
33—86
. 37
38—42
. 43
VIU CONTENTS.
Siege of Toulouse by Simon de Montfort
Fortifications of Carcassonne
Plan of Carcassonne ....
Bird's-eye View of Carcassonne
Ifecessity for Projections from the "Walls
The Hoarding . . . . -
The Hoard, and the Cat
The Lines of Approach ....
Engines for Attack and Defence
Attack by the Drawbridge from the "Wooden Tower
"Use of Bastions
Defensive Arrangements
Details of Defence
Means of Defence
Spirit of Feudalism
The Feudal Castle
Paris and the Louvre
Plan of Paris, Thirteenth Century
Plan of Paris, Fourteenth Century
Plan of Coucy .
Plans of Towns .
Anglo-Norman Feudalism
Feudal Castles of France
EicHAED CcEiTE-BE-LioN a Consummate warrior and an able
engineer
The Chateau-Gaillard
Keep of the Chateau-GaUlard
Siege of the Chateau-Gaillard by Philip Augustus, defended by
Roger de Lacy
Castle of Montargis
The Donjon or Keep
The Donjon or Keep of Etampes
The Donjon or Keep of Provins
The Castle and Keep of Coucy
Enguerrand de Coucy .
The Feudal Castles
Improved Modes of Defence
Arrangement of Loopholes
Loopholes and Battlements
Eound Bastions
The Curtain- wall
PAOE
44—46
47—59
66
57
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70, 71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81—90
91
92—94
95, 96
97-99
99
100—104
105—113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
UUJ
'JXJJiWXIS.
PAGE
The Pointed Bastion or Horn ....
. 121
Poiated Bastions or Beaks ....
. 122
Bastions at Aignes-Mortes ....
. 123
Plans of Bastions at Carcassonne and Falaise
124, 125
The Narbonne Gate at Carcassonne
126—131
Means of Defence .....
. 130
The Drawbridge .....
132—134
Siege of Anbenton .....
. 135
Timber-hoarding .....
136—139
Battlements and Machicoulis ....
. 140
Hoarding and Machicoulis ....
. 141
Castle of Pierrefonds .....
142—144
The "Walls of Avignon .....
145—149
Palace of the Pope at Avignon ....
. 150
The Castle of Vincennes ....
. 151
Plan of Viacennes .....
. 152
Improvement of Defences ....
. 153
Introduction of Infantry
. 154
The Battle of Crecy .....
. 154
Changes in Warfare .....
155—160
The Siege of Aiguillon ....
. 156
The Siege of Calais .....
167—159
The Jaquerie or Brigands ....
161, 162
Superior Discipline of the English Armies
• 161
The Army of Du Guesclin ....
. 163
Feudal Traditions long preserved, except in the Good Towns
164, 165
Introduction of ArtiUery ....
. 166
Early Use of Artillery and Trenches
167, 168
The English Expelled from France by Improved Artillery
. 169
Further Improvements in Artillery
170, 171
Cannons of the Fifteenth Century
. 172
An Archer of the Fifteenth Century
. 173
The Long-bow and the Cross-bow
174, 175
Alterations of Castles to receive Cannon
176, 177
The Castle of Bonagml .....
178—180
Embrasures for Cannon .
. 181
Modifications of Towers .
. 182
Walls of the Town of Langres
183—186
Adaptations of Old Works
. 187
Tower at Perigueux
188, 189
Fortress of Schaffhausen
190—192
X CONTENTS.
PAGE
Fortifications of Schaffhausen .
193—198
Changes in the Art of Defence .
199—201
Portiflcations of Orange under Louis XI.
. 200
Fortifications of IS'uys ....
. 202
Castles of the Close of the Fifteenth Century-
. 203
Modes of Strengthening Walls .
. 204
Ee-entering Eamparts ....
. 205
Fortifications of Sienna
. 206
Effects of Artillery ....
. 207
Use of Discharging-arches
. 208
Eamparts for Artillery ....
. 209
Eamparts of Earth and Timber .
. 210
Eamparts of Timber ....
. 211
Embrasures formed with Gabions
. 212
The Trenches with Gabions
. 213
Fortifications of Metz . . . .214,
216, 257, 258
Widening the Area ....
. 215
Enlargement of Barbicans into Boulevards
■ 215
Fortifications of Hull ....
217,218
Fortifications of Lubeck
. 219
Fortifications of Milan ....
220, 221
Use of the Cavalier ....
. 222
The Bridge of Marseilles
. 223
Cavalier at Verona ....
. 224
Use of Traverses ....
. 225
Use of Bastions .....
. 226
Fortifications of Nuremberg
227, 228
Fortifications of Augsburg
229—232
Frankfort-on-the-Maine
233, 234
The OrUlon . , .
235, 236
The Italian Engineers ....
. 237
Improved Bastions ....
. 238
Bastions attacked ....
239, 240
A Bastion Isolated ....
. 241
Bird's-eye View of a Bastion . . . .
. 242
Use of Eavelins ....
. 243
Plans of Eavelins ....
. 244
Improvements in Embrasures . . . .
. 245
Embrasures at Nuremberg
246, 251
Hoarding at JSTuremberg . . . .
247
Improved Embrasures ....
. 248
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Crenelles with Shutters
. 249
Embrasure with. Loopholes
. 250
Embrasures at Basle
. 252
Complicated Defences .
.
. 253
Advice of Machiavelli .
■ •
. 254
Changes caused by the use of Artillery .
. 255
Effects of Artillery
. 256
Mines and Countermines
. 259
Countermines — Galleries
. 260
Bastions according to De Ville
261—263
System of Vauban
. 264
Conclusion
. 265
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
1 Wooden Eamparts of Eoman work, from Trajan's Column ■
2 German Eampart of wood and wicker- work, from the Column
of Antoninus ........
3 Wooden Towers on Roman Walls, from Trajan's Column
4 Plan of Famars, in Belgium .....
5 Eoman Method of constructing the "Walls of a Portification
6 Plan of one of the Towers of Carcass mne
7 Inside Yiew of the same Tower with its Curtains, from the City
8 Outside View of the same Tower ....
9 Bird's-eye Yiew of a Eoman Town
10 Bird's-eye Yiew of part of a Fortress on a Hill
1 1 Plan of the Eoman Walls of Carcassonne . . ' .
12 Section of a Eoman Tower, as described by Csesar
13 Attack of a Palisade with a Battering-ram, from a MS. of the
Tenth Century
14 Ezekiel, with three Battering-rams, from a MS. of the
Eleventh Century ......
15 Part of Carcassonne defended by "Wood- work when a breach
was made ........
16 Plan of Carcassonne as fortified by S. Louis
17 Plan of the Castle of Carcassonne ....
18 Bird's-eye Yiew of Carcassonne ....
19 A Curtain-wall with Battlement and Loopholes; and the
"Wood-work, shewing one mode of attack and defence
20 The Lines of Approach
21 Attack by the Drawbridge from the Cat
22 Plan of one Bay of the Curtain-wall, and two Bnstions or
Towers, Carcassonne ......
23 "Wooden Door of a Bastion
24 Plan of Paris in the Thirteenth Century
6
8
9
9
11
11
12
14
16
17
20
25
26
41
48
56
57
61
63
65
66
67
74
LIST OF IlLTJSTEATIONS. Xlli
""• PAGE
25 Plan of Paris in the Pourteentli Century • ■ • • 75
26 Castle of Coucy 7g
27 Plan of the Chateau-Gaillard and its Environs • • • 82
28 Ground-plan of the Chateau-GaUlard 85
29 Chateau-Gaillard — Plan of Segments 88
30 Chateau-Gaillard— View of part of the "Wall • • • 89
31 Keep of the Chdteau-Gaillard ... • • 91
32 Plan of the Castle of Montargis .... .95
33 Plan of the Castle of Chauvigny 97
34 Plan of the Keep of Etampes ... .99
35 Ground-plan of the Keep of Provins . . . -100
36 Plan of the Pirst Story of the Keep of Provins • • .101
37 Plan of Third Story . ... • • 101
38 Elevation of the Keep of Provins, on the line ES on the Plans 102
39 Section of the Keep of Provins, on the Line A B on the Plans 103
40 Plan of the Castle of Coucy 106
41 Ground-plan of the Keep of Coucy . . • .107
42 Plan of the First Story of the Keep of Coucy . • .108
43 Plan of the Second Story of the Keep of Coucy ■ . .109
44 Plan of the Platform (on the Eoof, the Allure behind the
Parapet, and of the Battlements) of the Keep of Coucy • 110
45 Section of the Keep of Coucy, on the line P of the Plans • 111
46 Elevation, Section, and Plans of a Tower at Carcassonne • 117
47 A Crenelle with its wooden Hanging Shutter . • -118
48 Plan of part of a Curtain- wall with a Bastion . . -119
49 Plan of one Bay of a Curtain-wall with part of two Bastions 120
50 Plan of a Horn 121
51 Beaks of Loches and of the Gate of St. John at Provins • 122
52 Beaks of the Gates of Jouy at Provins, and of VUleneuve-
le-Eoi 122
53 Plan of the Town of Aigues-Mortes 123
64 Plan of an Angle of the Fortifications of Carcassonne . -124
55 Plan of a Projecting Angle of the Castle of Falaise • • 124
56 Plan of the Narbonne Gate of the City of Carcassonne • . 126
57 Plan of the First Floor of the Narbonne Gate . • -128
58 Elevation of the Narbonne Gate 129
59 Plan of the Upper Story of the Narbonne Gate . . -131
60 The Drawbridge . 132
61 Entrance to the Castle of Montargis 133
62 The Tapuca, or Shutter, suspended from above • ■ .134
63 A Shutter balanced on a Pivot 134
XIV
LIST OF ILLTJSTEAIIONS.
64 Gate of Aubenton, attacked by the Count of Hainault, from
a MS. of rroissart ....
65 Plan of the Hoarding ....
66 Sections of part of a Curtain-wall, well defended
67 Battlements and Machicoulis of a Tower •
68 Newcastle-on-Tyne, from a MS. of Froissart
69 Part of the Castle of Pierrefonds
70 Part of the Castle of Pierrefonds, restored •
71 Plan of a Square Tower . . . ■
72 Part of the "Walls of Avignon, inside .
73 Ground-plan of one of the Towers of Avignon
74 Plan of the Eirst Story . . • ■
75 Plan of Tipper Story, with the Allure and Battlement
76 Perspective View of the Interior of one of the Towers of
Avignon
77 Part of the Palace of the Pope at Avignon .
78 Plan of the Castle of Vincennos . . . •
79 A Double Cannon with the "Wooden Shield or Mantelet
80 A Double Cannon with the Chamber for Powder
81 A Cannon mounted on a Carriage with a Quadrant
82 An Archer with his Sheaf of Arrows ...
83 An Archer firing downwards
84 A Crossbow-man with his Shield on his back, taking aim
From a MS. of Froissart
85 A Crossbow-man fitting the handle. From a MS.
86 The Cranequin, or Handle of the Crossbow
87 Plan of the Castle of Bonaguil
88 Bird's-eye view of the Castle of Bonaguil .
89 Embrasure of the Castle of Bonaguil
90 Plan of the "Walls of the Town of Langres
91 Ground-plan of the Great Tower, Langres .
92 Plan of the Eirst Story
93 Section of the Tower, Langres .....
94 Plan of one of the Bastions of Langres, Fifteenth Century
95 Section of the Bastion on the line C D of the Plan, fig. 94
96 Section of the Bastion on the line A B of the Plan, fig. 94
97 Plan of a Tower at Perigueux
98 View of the Tower at Perigueux ....
99 Fortifications of the Bridge over the Ehiae at Schaffhausen
100 Planof the Citadel^of Schaffhausen ....
101 Perspective View of one of the Bastions, Schaffhausen
135
137
139
140
141
142
143
145
146
147
147
148
149
150
152
172
172
172
173
174
174
175
175
178
180
181
183
184
185
185
185
186
186
188
189
191
192
193
LIST OP ILLTJS'XEATIONS. XV
FIG. PAGE
102 Han of tlie first Story of the Bastion, Schaffhausen . .194
103 Plan and Section of one of the Embrasures of the Great Hall 195
104 Plan of the Platform of the Tower, Schaffhausen . . 196
105 Bird's-eye View of Schaffhausen 198
106 View of a Battery, Schaffhausen 200
107 View of part of the Fortifications of the Town of Orange . 201
108 Section of a Parapet at Orange, called a Braie . . . 202
109 View of part of the Fortifications of Sienna . . . 206
110 View of the Parapet of the Curtain- wall, inside . . . 208
111 View of a Parapet shewing the Construction . . . 209
112 Fascines 210
113 Rampart formed of the Trunks of Trees . . . .211
114 Eampart formed of Branches of Trees . . . .211
115 Embrasures formed with Gabions 212
116 View of the Trenches, with Gabions, &c 213
117 The Mazelle Gate and Barbican at Metz . . . .21-1
118 View of Barbican, or Boulevard, Metz . . . .216
119 Part ofthe Fortifications of the Town of Hull . . .218
120 Fortifications of Lubeck 219
121 Bird's-eye View of the Castle of Milan . . . .220
122 View of the Bridge of Marseilles 223
123 Cavalier on a Bastion at Verona 224
124 Traverses with Gabions 225
125 View of one of the Bastions of Augsburg .... 230
126 Plan of Bastions at Augsburg 231
127 Ground -plan of the Fortifications of Augsburg . . .232
128 View of the Fortifications of Frankfort-on-the-Maine . . 233
129 Plan of one of the Bastions 234
130 View of an Orillon, or Oblong Bastion .... 235
131 Plan of Orillons 236
132 Plan of one of the Bastions at Troyes .... 238
133 Plans of Bastions . 238
134 View of Bastions attacked • 239
135 Bastion isolated, with Inner Eampart ■ • • -241
136 Bird's-eye View of a Bastion 242
137 Plans of a Eavelin and two TenaiUes .... 244
138 Plan of an Embrasure at Nuremberg .... 246
139 Section of the same .••••••• 246
140 View of the Parapet at Nuremberg, with the Hoarding • 247
141 Embrasures with Eedents • 248
142 Plan and View of an Embrasure 248
XVI riST OF ILITTSTEATIOlirS.
no. i'^™
143 Plan of another Embrasure 248
144 Covered "Way, with. Crenelles, Loopholes, and Shutters ■ 249
145 Elevation, Section, and Plan of an Embrasure, with Loop-
holes for Musketry 250
146 Embrasure of the Laufer Gate at Nuremberg • ■ .251
147 Bird's-eye View of part of the City of Metz • ■ -258
148 Plan of Vaulted Gallery 260
149, 150 Plan and Section of a Bastion according to De VUle • 262
151 Section of Ditch with false Braie, according to De Ville ■ 264
ESSAY
ON THE
MILITAEY AKCHITECTUEE
OF THE
MIDDLE AGES.
rpO "write a generar history of tlie art of fortification,
-^ from the days of antiquity to the present time, is
one of the fine subjects lying open to the researches of
archaeologists, and one which we may reasonably hope to
see undertaken ; but we must admit that it is a subject,
to treat which fully requires much and varied informa-
tion, — ^since to the knowledge of the historian should be
superadded in him who would undertake it the practice
of the arts of architecture and military engineering. It
is difficult to form an exact estimate of a forgotten art,
when we are unacquainted with that art as it is practised
in the present day; and in order that a work, of the
nature of that which we wish to see undertaken, should
be complete, it ought to be executed by one who is at
once versed in the modern art of the defence of strong
places, an architect, and an antiquary. The present
writer is not a military engineer and scarcely an anti-
quary: it would, therefore, be in the highest degree
presumptuous were he to offer this summary in any
other light than as an essay, — a study of one phase of
the art of fortification, comprised between the establish-
ment of the feudal power, and the definite adoption of
INTRODUCTION.
the modern system of fortification as devised to counter-
act the use of artillery. This essay, perhaps, by lifting
the veil -which still envelopes one branch of the art of
mediaeval architecture, may induce some of our young
officers of engineers to devote themselves to a study,
which could not fail to possess great interest, and which
might probably have a useful and a practical result;
for there is always something to be gained by informing
ourselves of the efforts made by those who have pre-
ceded us in the same path, and by following up the
progress of human labour, from its first rude essays, to
the most remarkable developments of the intelligence
and the genius of man. To see how others have con-
quered before us the difficulties by which they were sur-
rounded, is one means of learning how to conquer those
which every day present themselves ; and in the art of
fortification, where everything is a problem to be solved,
where all is calculation and foresight, where we have
not only to do battle with the elements and with the
hand of time, as in the other branches of architecture,
but to protect ourselves against the intelligent and pre-
viously-planned destructive agency of man, it is well,
we think, to know how in past times some have applied
all the abilities of their minds and all the material force
at their command to the work of destruction, others
to that of preservation.
At the time when the barbarians invaded Gaul, many
of the towns still preserved their fortifications of Gallo-
Eoman origin ; those which did not, made haste to erect
some, out of the ruins of civil buildings. Those walled
enclosures, successively forced and repaired, were long
the only defensive works of these cities ; and it is pro-
bable that they were not built upon any regular or
systematic plan, but constructed very variously, accord-
THE. BARBARIANS IMITATED THE ROMANS. 3
ing to the nature of the localities and of the materials,
Or after certain local traditions, the nature of which we
cannot at the present day fully understand, as there re-
main to us only the ruins of these walls, consisting of
foundations which haye been modified by successive
additions.
The Visigoths took possession, ia the fifth century,
of a great portion of Gaul ; their domination extended,
under Wallia, from the Narbonaise to the Loire. During
eighty-nine years Toulouse remained the capital of this
kingdom, and, in the course of that period, the greater
number of the towns of Septimania were fortified with
great care, and had to stand several sieges, Narbonne,
Beziers, Agde, Carcassonne, and Toulouse were sur-
rounded by formidable ramparts, constructed according
to the Eoman traditions of the Lower Empire, if we may
judge at least by the important portions of the early
walls which stUl surround the city of Carcassonne. The
Visigoths, allies of Eome, did no more than perpetuate
the acts of the Empire, and that with some degree of
success. As for the Franks, who had preserved their
Germanic customs, their military establishments would
naturally be so many fortified camps, surrounded by
palisades, ditches, and some embankments of earth.
Timber plays an important part in the fortifications of
the first centuries of the middle ages. And although
the Germanic races who occupied Gaul left the task of
erectiug churches and monasteries, palaces and civil
structures, to the Gallo-Eomans, they were bound to
preserve their military habits in the presence of the
conquered nation. The Eomans themselves, when they
made war upon territories covered with forest, like Ger-
many and Gaul, frequently erected ramparts of wood ;
advanced works, as it were, beyond the limits of their
b2
4 WOODEN EAMPAETS OF THE CELTS.
camps; as we may see by the bas-relief on Trajan's
Column (1). In the time of Caesar, the Celts, when
they found themselves unable to continue their wars,
placed their women, their children, and all the most
precious of their possessions behind fortifications made
of wood, earth, or stone, beyond the reach of their
enemy's attack.
" They employ," says Caesar in Hs Commentaries, " pieces of
wood perfectly straight, lay them on the ground in a direction
parallel to each other at a distance apart of two feet, fix them
transversely by means of trunks of trees, and fill up the voids
Fig. 1. Wooden Eamparts of Koman work, frora Tr^an'a Goluran.
with earth. On this first foundation they lay a layer of broken
rock in large fragments, and when these are well cemented,
they put down a fresh course of timber arranged like the first ;
taking care that the timbers of these two courses do not come
into contact, but rest upon the layer of rock which intervenes.
The work is thus proceeded with, until it attains the height
required. This kind of construction, by reason of the variety
of its materials, composed of stone and wood, and forming a
regular wall-surface, is good for the service and defence of
fortified places ; for the stones which are used thereia hinder
the wood from burning, and the trees being about forty feet in
WOODEN RA.MPARTS OF THE CELTS. 5
length, and bound together in the thickness of the wall, can be
broken or torn asunder only with the greatest difficulty*."
Csesar renders justice to the industrious manner in
which, the Gallic tribes of his time established their de-
fences and succeeded in resisting the efforts of their
assailants, when he laid siege to the town of Avaricum,
(Bourges).
" The Gauls," he says, " opposed all kinds of stratagems to
the wonderful constancy of Our soldiers: for the industry of
that nation imitates perfectly whatever they have once seen
done. They turned aside the hooks (falces murales) with nooses,
and when they had caught hold of them firmly drew them in
by means of engines, and undermined the mound the more
skilfully for the reason that there are in their territories ex-
tensive iron-mines, and consequently every kind of mining
operation is known and practised by them. They had furnished,
moreover, the whole wall on every side with turrets, and had
covered these with hides. Besides, in their frequent sallies by
day and night they attempted either to set fire to the mound,
or attack our soldiers when engaged in the works ; and, more-
over, by means of beams spliced together, in proportion as our
towers were raised, together with our ramparts, did they raise
theirs to the same level ''."
The Germans constructed, also, ramparts of wood
crowned with parapets of osier. The Column of Anto-
nine at Home furnishes a curious example of this kind
of rustic redoubt (2). These works were, however, very
probably of hasty construction. We see here the fort at-
tacked by Eoman soldiers. The infantry, in order to get
close to the rampart, cover themselves with their shields
and form what was called the tortoise (testudo); by resting
the tops of their shields against the rampart, they were
able to sap its base or set fire to it, safe, comparatively,
• Csesar, De Bella Gall., lib. vii. cap. 22. '' Ibid.
THE ROMAN TESTUDO.
from the projectiles of tlie enemy ". The besieged are in
the act of flinging stones^ wheels, swords, torches, and
fire-pots upon the tortoise ; while Eoman soldiers, hold-
ing burning brands, appear to await the moment when
the tortoise shall have completely reached the rampart,
in order to pass under the shields and fire the fort. In
their entrenched camps, the Eomans, besides some ad-
vanced works constructed of timber, frequently erected
^vcflpiyjc
Fig. 2 G-erman Hampartof ■woodand-wick:er--work, from the Column of Antoninus.
along their ramparts, at regular intervals, wooden scaf-
foldings, which served either for placing in position the
machines intended to hurl their projectiles, or as watch-
towers from which to reconnoitre the approaches of the
enemy. The bas-reliefs of Trajan's Column afford nume-
rous examples of this kind of structure (3). These
"= These shields, formed like a portion of a cylinder, were reserved for this kind
of attack.
THE ROMAN CAMPS. ^
Eoman camps were of two sorts : there were the summer
camps, the castra cesUva, of a purely temporary nature,
which were raised to protect the army when halting in
the course of the campaign, and which consisted merely
of a shallow ditch and a row of palisades planted along
the summit of a slight embankment; and the winter,
or stationary camps, castra hiberna^ castra stativa, which
were defended by a wide and deep ditch, and by a ram-
part of sodded earth or of stone flanked by towers ; the
whole crowned with crenellated parapets or with stakes,
connected together by means of transverse pieces of
timber or wattles. The use of round and square towers
by the Eomans in their fixed entrenchments was gene-
ral, for, as Vegetius says, —
"The ancients found that the enclosure of a fortified place
ought not to be in one continuous line, for the reason that the
battering-rams would thus be able too easily to effect a breach ;
whereas by the use of towers placed sufficiently close to one
another in the rampart, their walls presented parts projecting
and re-entering. If the enemy wishes to plant his ladders
against, or to bring his machines close to, a wall thus con-
structed, he can be seen in front, in flank, and almost iu the
rear ; he is almost hemmed in by the fire from the batteries of
the place he is attacking."
From the very earliest antiquity the usefulness of
towers had been recognised for the purpose of taking
the besiegers in flank when they attacked the cui'tains.
The fixed camps of the Eomans were generally quad-
rangular, with four gates pierced, one in the centre of each
of the fronts ; the principal gate was called the prcetorian,
because it opened in front of the prcetorium, or residence
of the general-in-chief ; the opposite one was called the
decumana ; the two lateral gates were known as princi-
palis dextra and principalis sinistra. Outworks, called
8
"WOODEN TOWEES ON ROMAN "WALLS.
antemuralia, procastria, defended those gates *. Tlie
officers and soldiers "were lodged in huts built of clay,
!Pi|. 3. Wooden To-wers on Roman Walls-, from Trajan's Column-
brick, or wood, and tbatcbed or tiled over. The to"wers
■were provided with machines for hurling darts or stones.
The local position very often modified this quadrangular
arrangement, for, as Yitru"vius justly observes, in refer-
ence to machines of war (cap. xxii.), — " As for the means
which a besieged force may employ in their defence, this
cannot be set in writing."
The military station of Famars, in Belgium {Fanum
Martis), given in the "History of Architecture iuBelgium,"
and the plan of which we here produce (4), shews an
enclosure, of which the arrangement is not in accordance
with the ordinary plans of Eoman camps : it is true, this
fortification cannot be referred to an earlier date than the
third century '. As for the mode adopted by the Romans
"^ Godeac. Steweohii, Connect, ad Sexti Jwl. Frontini lib. Stragem. Lngd.
Batav., 1592, 12mo., p. 465.
" See Bist, de Varcliiteot. en Selgigue, par A. G. B. Schayes, t. i. p. 203,
(Bruxelles.)
ROMAN WALLS OF TOWNS. 9
in the construction of their fortifications for cities, it
consisted in two strong walls of
masonry, separated by an interval
of twenty feet: the space between
was filled with the earth from the
ditches, and loose rock well rammed,
forming at top a parapet walk, slight-
ly inclined towards the town to allow
the water to pass off: the outer of
these two walls, which was raised
above the parapet-walk, was massive
and crenellated; the inner one was
very slightly elevated above the
ground level of the place inside, so
as to render the ramparts easy of
access, by means of flights of steps
and inclined ways (5)'. M^. 4. PJanofFamarsanBelimm.
The Chateau Narhonnais at Toulouse, which plays so
\J
Fi^.~ 5. Eoman Method of constructing the Walls of a FoxtificatioD,
important, a part ia the history of that city fi:om the
time of the domination of the Visigoths to the fourteenth
' Vegetius, lib. iv. cap. 3. tii, QuemadMtodMm muris terra jmgattir egesta.
lO THE VISIGOTH FORTIFICATIONS.
century, appears to have been constructed according to
the classical model : it was composed of —
"Two massive towers, one at the south, the other at the
north, huilt of baked clay and flint, with lime ; the whole
enclosed by great stones without mortar, but cramped together
by means of iron plates run with lead. The castle stood above
the ground level more than thirty fathom {brasses) s, having
towards the south two successive gates and two vaults of
masonry reaching to the summit of the building; there were
also two other successive gates on the north side and on the
Place du Salin. By the latter of these gates you formerly
entered the city, the ground of which has been since raised
more than twelve feet ... A square tower was to be seen
between these two towers, or defensive platforms ; for they
were embanked and filled with earth, according to Guillaume
de Puilaurnes, since it appears that Simon de Montfort had all
the earth removed which then filled them to their roofs ''."
The "Visigoth fortification of the city of Carcassonne,
which is still preserved, offers an analogous arrange-
ment, recalling those described by Yegetius. The level
of the town is much more elevated than the ground out-
side, and almost as high as the parapet walks. The
curtain walls, of great thickness, are composed of two
faces of small cubical masonry alternating with courses
of brick ; the middle portion being filled, not with earth,
but with rubble run with lime. The towers were raised
above these curtains, and their communication with the
latter might be cut off, so as to make of each tower
a small independent fort; externally, these towers are
cylindrical, and, on the side of the town, square : they
rest also, towards the country, upon a cubical base or
foundation. We subjoin (6) the plan of one of these
towers with the curtains adjoining.
s The Irasse, or Fr. fathom, measured Bpieds du Roy.
■' Annates de la ville de Toulouse. Paris, 1771, t. i. p, 436.
TOWERS AT CARCASSONNE.
II
E
Fig. 6. Plan of one of the Towers of Carcassonne.
A. Gi'oand-plan. B. Plan of first story. C. & D. Pits beneath drawbridges.
Fig. 7. InsideView of the same Tower with its Curtains, from the City.
A is the plan on the ground level ; B, the plan of the
first story at the level of the parapet. We see, at C and D,
the two excavations formed in front of the gates of the
tower to intercept, when the drawbridges were raised,
all communication between the town, or the parapet walk
and the several stories of the tower. From the first
story, access was had to the upper crenellated, or battle-
mented,. portion of the tower by a ladder of wood placed
T2
TOWER "WITH OUTWORKS.
interiorly against the side of the flat wall. The external
ground-level was much lower than that of the tower, and
also beneath the ground-level of the town, from which it
Fip. 8. Uaiaide View of tbe same Tower.
was reached by a descending flight of from ten to fifteen
steps. Fig. 7 shews the tower and its two curtains on
FORTII'ICATIONS OF TOWNS. 1 3
the side of the town ; the bridges of communication are
supposed to have been removed. The battlemented por-
tion at the top is covered with a roof, and open on the
side of the town, in order to permit the defenders of the
tower to see what was going on therein, and also to allow
of their hoisting up stones and other projectiles by means
of a rope and pulley'. Eig. 8 shews the same tower
on the side towards the country; we have added a
postern'', the sill of which is sufficiently raised above
the ground to necessitate the use of a scaling or step
ladder, to obtain ingress. The postern is defended, as
was customary, by a palisade or barrier, each gate or
postern being provided with a work of this kind.
In conformity with the traditions of the Eoman fixed
camp, the fortifications of the towns of the middle ages
enclosed a castle, or at the least a fort, which commanded
the walls ; the castle itself contained a detached defence
stronger than all the others, which took the name of
donjon. Frequently the towns of the middle ages were
protected by several fortified walls, one within the other ;
or there was the city proper, which, placed upon the
point of greatest elevation, was surrounded by strong
walls, and around it faubourgs (or suburbs) defended by
towers and curtains, or by simple works of earth or tim-
ber, with ditches. When the Eomans founded a city,
they took care, as far as was possible, to choose some
site sloping towards a river. When the inclination of
the ground was terminated by another embankment,
sloping in the opposite direction, at some distance from
' These towers were partially damaged at the beginning of the twelfth century,
after the taking of Carcassonne by the army of Saint Louis. At several points,
however, may be seen traces of these interruptions between the curtains and the
gates of the tower.
■' This postern exists at the side of one of the towers and is protected by
its flank.
14
A ROMAN TOWN.
the course of the river, the site fulfilled all the con-
ditions to be desired. We give (9), in order to make
ourselves better understood, a bird's-eye view of the site
of a Eoman city, according to the above data. A was
Fi^. 9. Bird's-eye Vie-w of a Koman Town.
A. The town. B. The escarpment. CC. The walls.
D. The castle. EE. The watch-towers.
the city, with its walls bounded on one side by the river ;
frequently a bridge, defended by advanced works, com-
municated with the opposite bank. At B was the escarp-
ment, which rendered access to the town difficult at the
point where an enemy's army would naturally attempt
to invest it ; D, the castle commanding the whole system
of defence, and serving as a refuge for the garrison in
case the city should fall into the enemy's hands. The
weakest points were thus the two fronts, CC, and there-
fore it was here that the walls were high, well flanked
by towers, and protected by wide and deep ditches,
ROMAN TOWNS. 15
sometimes also by palisades, more especially in advance
of the gates. Neither was the position of the besiegers,
when facing either of these two fronts, very good ; for a
sally which would take them in flank might, were the
garrison at all brave and numerous, drive them back
into the river. With a view to reconnoitring the opera-
tions of the besieging army, there were erected, at the
angles EE, towers of great elevation, which allowed those
in the town to watch the banks of the river both up and
down to a great distance, and also the two fronts CC.
It is according to this arrangement that the cities of
Autun, Cahors, Auxerre, Poitiers, Bordeaux, Langres,
&c., were fortified in the Roman times. When a bridge
connected, in front of the walls, the opposite sides of the
river, then the bridge was defended by a tete-de-pont, G,
on the side over against the town. These tetes-de-pont
assumed more or less importance in different places ;
they took in whole suburbs, or were merely fortresses,
or simple barbicans. Stockades, with towers face to face,
built on the two banks of the river above the bridge,
permitted the townspeople to bar the passage and inter-
cept the navigation by throwing from one tower to the
other either chains, or pieces of wood attached end to
end by iron rings. If, as was the case with Eome her-
self, in the neighbourhood of a river were situated a
series of hills, care was taken not to surround these hiUs,
but to carry the walls of defence across their summits ;
fortifying strongly at the same time the intervals, which,
being commanded by the front, on both sides, could not
be attacked without great risk. For this purpose, also,
between the hills the line of the walls was nearly always
inflected and concave in such a way as to flank the
valleys, as is shewn in the bird's-eye view (10) ^ But
• See the plan of Eome.
1 6 VISIGOTH TOWNS.
if the city stood in the plain (in which, case it was gene-
rally of secondary importance), advantage was taken of
IFig. 10. Bird's-eye View of part of a Fortress on a Hill.
every rise in the ground ; the sinuosities being carefully
followed, so as to prevent the besiegers from establishing
themselves on a level with the foot of the walls, as may
be seen at Langres and Carcassonne, — we append (11)
the Yisigoth enceinte of the latter town — we might
almost say the Eoman one, inasmuch as some of the
towers are built on Roman foundations. In the cities of
antiquity, as well as in the greater number of those
erected in the middle ages, and in those of our own
day, the castle {chateau^ castellum ; capdhol^ capital in
langue d^oc) was built, not only on the point of greatest
elevation, but also contiguous on one of its sides to the
city wall, in order to secure to the garrison the means of
receiving succour from without if the city were taken.
The entrances into the castle were protected by out-
works, which extended a considerable distance into the
country, so as to leave between the first barriers and the
walls of the castle an open space, or place d'armes, which
would allow of the encampment of a body of troops
beyond the fixed lines of fortification, to sustain the
shock of the first attacks. These advanced intrenchments
ROMAN FORTIFICATIONS. 1 7
were generally thrown up in a semicircular line and
Fig. 11. Plan of tlie Roman Walls of Carcassonne.
composed of ditches and palisades ; and the gates were
placed laterally, so as to oblige the enemy who endea-
voured to force them to present himself in flank before
the walls of the place.
As from the fourth to the tenth century the defensive
system of Eoman fortification had undergone but little
modification, the means of attack had necessarily lost
much of their power ; the mechanical arts played an im-
portant part in the sieges of fortified places, and practical
mechanics were not likely to be developed, or indeed to
maintain the level to which the Eomans had raised them,
under the domination of barbarian conquerors.
c
1 8 ROMAN FORTIFICATIONS.
The Eomans were very skilful in the art of attacking
strong places, and they displayed under those circum-
stances a vastness of resources of which we can hardly
form an adequate idea. Their military organisation was,
moreover, in the highest degree favourable to the war of
sieges : all their troops could be converted into pioneers,
labourers, miners, carpenters, masons, &c., and an army
en masse laboured at the approaches, the earth-works,
the walls of contravaUation, at the same time that they
attacked the enemy and defended themselves. Herein
lies the explanation of the fact that Roman armies, com-
paratively not numerous, brought to a successful issue
sieges in the course of which they had been obliged to
construct gigantic works. When the Roman lieutenant,
C. Trebonius, was left by Csesar at the siege of Marseilles,
the Romans had to erect considerable works in order to
reduce the city, which was strong and well provided
with means of defence. One of their works of approach
is of great importance : we give here the passage of
Caesar's Memoirs which describes it, endeavouring in our
translation to render it as intelligible as possible : —
"The legionaries, wto directed the right of the work, con-
sidered that a tower of brick, erected at the base of the wall
(of the town), might be of considerable assistance to them
against the frequent sallies of the enemy, if they succeeded in
making it into a fort or bastille. That which they had first
made was small and low ; it served them, however, as a place
of retreat. In it they defended themselves against superior
forces, or they issued from it to repulse and pursue the enemy.
This work was thirty feet long on each of its sides, and the
thickness of the walls was five feet ; it was soon discovered (for
experience is a great master) that a great advantage might, by
means of some additions to the original plan, be taken of this
structure, if it were given the elevation of a tower.
"When this fort had been carried up to the height of one
ROMAN FORTITICATIONS — THE TOWEE. 1 9
story, they (the Romans) laid down a floor composed of joists,
the ends of which were coyered by the external face of the
masonry, in order that the fire thrown hy the enemy could not
fasten upon any projecting portion of the wood-work. Above
this floor they raised the brick walls as much as they were
allowed by the parapets and mantelets by which they were
screened ; then, at a short distance from the coping of the walls,
they laid two diagonal beams to carry the framework intended
to form the roof of the tower. Upon these two beams they set
transverse joists on a radiating plan, the extremities whereof
were allowed to overhang somewhat the external face of the
tower wall, in order to suspend from them, outside, guards
which would shield the workmen engaged on the construction
of the wall. They covered this framework with bricks and
clay to render it fire-proof, and stretched a rude kind of tem-
porary covering over it, lest the roof should be beaten in by the
projectiles thrown by the engines, or the bricks broken by the
stones from the catapults. They then made three mats with
cables such as are used for holding the anchors of vessels, of
the length of each of the sides of the tower and the height of
four feet, which they fastened to the external extremities of the
beams (of the roof) along the walls, on the three sides facing
the enemy. The soldiers had often had proof, upon other
occasions, that this kind of guard was the only one which
formed an impenetrable barrier against the arrows and pro-
jectiles hurled from the engines. A portion of the tower being
complete and placed beyond the reach of insult, they transferred
the mantelets they had used to other parts of the attacking
works. Then supporting themselves upon the first floor, they
began to hoist up the whole roof, of a piece, and raised it to a
height sufficient to allow the cable-screens still to cover the
labourers. Hidden behind these guards, they went on building
the walls, which were of brick, then raised the roof a little
more, and thus secured for themselves the necessary space for
raising their structure by degrees. When they had reached
the height of another story, they laid another floor of joists,
the bearings of which were always concealed by the external
masonry ; and from thence they continued to raise the roof with
its hanging cable-work. Thus it was that, without running any
C 2
2,0
ROMAN FORTIFICATIONS — THE TOWER.
risk, without exposing themselves to be wounded, they succes-
sively raised the work six stories. Loop-holes were left, in
proper positions, to receive machines of war.
Fig. 12, Section oi'a !Rt3man Tower, as described ty Ca
" When they had made sure that from this tower they could
defend the works which adjoined it, they began to erect a rat
[musculus)'^, sixty feet long, with beams two feet square, which
■n Isidorus, libro tluodevigesimo Etymolaglarum, capite de Ariete : Mmcuhs,
ROMAN FOETIFICATIONS — THE EAT. 21
from the groimd-floor of their tower would lead them to that of
the enemy and to the walls. To this end they first laid down
on the ground two beams of equal length, at a distance apart of
some four feet; they then placed in mortices, made in those
beams, upright posts five feet in height. They connected these
iposts by rafters joined in the form of a pediment of low pitch,
thereon to place the purlins intended to support the roofing of
the rat. Over these they placed purlins of two feet square, con-
nected by means of pins and bands of iron. Upon these purlins
were nailed laths of four fingers square, to support the bricks
(or tiles) which formed the roof. The timber frame-work being
thus constructed, and the lower beams carried on traverses, the
whole was lined externally with bricks and moist clay, to pro-
tect it against the fire which would be launched from the walls.
To these bricks were attached hides, in order to hinder the water
poured into channels by the besieged from wetting and detaching
the clay ; and in order that the hides might not be injured by
fire or stones, they were covered with mattresses of wool. The
whole of this work was constructed at the base of the tower,
under cover of mantelets ; and all at once, when the Marseillais
least expected it, by means of rollers employed in ships, the rat
was moved forward against the tower of the city, ia such a
manner as to touch its base.
"Then the besieged, afirighted by this rapid manoeuvre,
push forward by means of levers the hugest stones they can
find, and hurl them from the top of the wall upon the rat. But
the carpentry is strong enough to resist them, and everything
that falls upon the roof is carried off by its sloping sides.
Seeing this, the besieged change their plan, and setting fire to
barrels filled with pitch and tar, precipitate them from the top
of the parapets. These barrels roll down, and fall to the
ground on each side of the rat, whence they are removed with
poles and pitch-forks. In the meanwhile, however, our soldiers,
under cover of the rat, loosen the stones of the foundations of
the enemy's tower. The rat is likewise defended by arrows
shot from the upper works of our brick tower : the besieged
inqnit, cunieulo similis sit, quo murus perfoditw : ex quo et appellatuT, quasi
ma/mscuVus. (Godeso. Stewec, comm. ad lib. iv. Veget., 1492.)
22 ROMAN FORTIFICATIONS.
are driven from the parapets of their towers and curtains ; no
time is left them to shew themselves thereat, or for defence.
Already a great quantity of the stones of the basement are
removed, when all at once a portion of the tower falls down "."
In order to render this passage intelligible, we give
(fig. 12) a perspective section of the tower (or bastille)
here described by Csesar, supposed to be taken at the
moment when the Roman soldiers are engaged in raising
it, tmder shelter of the moveable roof. This latter is
lifted at the four angles by means of large wooden screws,
the threads of which are made to work successively in
large nuts in two pieces and supported by the first
lateral beams of each story and at the angles of the
tower. In this way, those screws are endless, for when
they leave the nuts of one of the lower stories, they
have already entered the nut of the last floor laid : holes
pierced in the body of these screws allow six men, at
least, to turn them by means of bars, as in a capstan.
According as the roof is raised, masons prop it at several
points and adjust it to a true level. From the extremities
of the beams of the roof are suspended the cable mats to
protect the workmen. As to the rat, or gallery intended
to enable the pioneers to sap the base of the walls of the
besieged under cover, its description is sufficiently clear
and detailed in the text not to need a commentary.
If the sieges undertaken by the Eomans denote
amongst this people great experience and habits of
method carefully followed out, the military art in a high
state of development, the use of means which were then
irresistible, a perfect order in all operations, the same
cannot be said of the barbarians who invaded the West ;
and if the German tribes of the East and North were
_ . » Csesar, Be Bella Civ., lib. ii. cap. 8 — 11.
ATTACKS OP THE GEEMAN TRIBES. 23
able to penetrate easily into Gaul, the reason is rather to
be looked for in the weakness of the defensive fortifi-
cations there than in any skilfulness of their modes of
attack, for the vestiges of Roman warfare were hardly
known to the barbarians. The few documents which
remain to us having reference to the sieges undertaken
by the tribes who invaded Gaul, exhibit a notable want
of experience on the part of the assailants.
The attack calls for greater order, more regularity,
than the defence. The German tribes may have had some
idea of defensive fortification, but it was difficult for
them to keep irregular and ill-discipHned armies together
before a town which held out for any length of time ;
whenever a siege was protracted, the assailant was almost
certain to see his troops breaking up, to go and piUage
the country. The military organization of the German
nations, moreover, did not favour a war of sieges. As
each chief preserved a kind of independence, it was not
possible to compel an army composed of such various
elements to execute the manual labour to which the
Roman armies were habituated. The German soldier
would have disdained to take in hand the spade and the
shovel to make a trench or to throw up an embankment ;
and it is a matter of certainty that, if the GaUo-Roman
cities had been well provided with materials of war, and
well defended, the efforts of the barbarians would not
have availed against their walls, siuce, in view of the
offensive means at the disposal of their troops, the tra-
ditions of the Roman system of defence were superior to
the attack. But, after the first invasions, the GaUo-
Eomans perceived the necessity of defending themselves,
and of fortifying their towns, dismantled in the course of
a long peace; on the other hand, the barbarian troops
had acquired a greater amount of experience, and were
24 ATTACKS OF THE GERMAN TEIBBS.
not long before they put into practice, with, less order
indeed, but with a more furious energy and a greater
sacrifice of life, the greater number of the means of
attack which had been practised by the Eomans. Once
masters of the soil, the new conquerors put forth their
warlike genius in improving the defence and attack of
cities ; constantly engaged in internecine war, occasions
were never wanting of applying the remains of the
Eoman military art; and the ambition of the chiefs of
the Franks, down to the time of Charlemagne, was ever
to conquer the ancient predominance of Eome, to lean
for support upon the civilization in the midst of which
they were thrown, and to resuscitate it for their own
advantage.
All the sieges undertaken during the Merovingian
and Carlovingian periods are rude imitations of the
sieges made by the Romans. When a place was about
to be invested, two lines of ramparts of either wood or
stone, and protected by ditches, were first of all esta-
blished ; one on the side of the city, in order to afford a
protection against the sorties of the besieged and to de-
prive them of all means of communication with the
outside, — this is the line of contravallation ; the other
on the side of the champaign, or open country, in order to
provide against succour reaching the place from without,
which is the line of circumvallation. In imitation of
the Roman armies, the towers, which formed part of the
ramparts attacked, were opposed by other towers of
wood, moveable and of a greater height than the former,
which commanded the ramparts of the besieged, and
which, by means of fiying bridges, allowed of numerous
assailants beiag thrown upon the walls. The moveable
towers had this advantage, namely, that they could be
placed opposite the weak points of the defence, against
THE BATTERING-RAM TTSBD IN THE TENTH CENTURY. 2,5
curtains wHcli had but narrow parapet-ways (chemins
de ronde), and whicli, consequently, were able to oppose
no more than a single line of soldiers to a deep column of
attack ; the latter being precipitated, moreover, from a
higher point upon the walls. The art of the miner and
all the engines constructed for battering walls were
greatly improved: and thenceforward the attack over-
powered the defence. Of the machines of war of the
Romans, the armies of the first centuries of the Middle
Ages had preserved the battering-ram (mouton in langue-
d^oil^ bosson in langue-d'' oc). This fact has been some-
times doubted ; but we have proofs of the use, during
the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and
even sixteenth centuries, of this engine for battering
walls. We append copies of vignettes taken from manu-
I'i|. 13. Attack of a PaUsade -witli a Battering-ram, from a MS. of the
Tenth Century.
scripts in the Imperial Library of Paris, which must
dispel all doubt as to the use of the battering-ram. The
26 THE BATTEEING-EAM XTSED IN THE IItH CENTURY.
first of these (fig. 13) represents an attack on palisades,
or lists, surrounding a fortification of stone ". The batter-
ing-ram can be plainly distinguished carried upon two
wheels and impelled by three men who cover themselves
with their shields ; a fourth assailant holds a cross-bow.
Fig. 14. Ezekiel, -with three Battexing-rams, from a MS. of the Eleventh Century.
The second (fig. 14) represents one of the visions of
Ezekiel ^ ; three batteriug-rams, on wheels, surround the
prophet 1. In the siege of the castle of Beaucaire by the
" Haimonig, Comment, in Ezech., Bibl. Imp., manusc. of the tenth century,
F. de Saint-Qermain, Latin, 303.
p Bible, No. 6. vol. iii. Bibl. Imp., ancient F. Lat. MS. of ninth or tenth century.
1 Ezekiel iv. 2, 3. Ezekiel is shewn as holding the plate of iron, and the
battering-rams surround him.
IMPE0TEMENT8 AFTEE THE FIRST CRUSADES. 27
inhabitants of that town, the hosson is employed (see
farther on, where the use of this engine is alluded to).
And finally, in the Chronicles of Froissart, and, later still,
at the siege of Pavia under Francis I., mention is made
of the battering-ram. But after the first crusades, the
engineers of the Western countries who had accompanied
the armies to the East brought back with them to
France, Italy, England, and Germany some improve-
ments ia the art of fortification. The feudal system,
already organized, soon put those new methods into
practice, with never-ceasing amelioration, owing to the
state of permanent war in which it existed. From the
close of the twelfth century until towards the middle of
the fourteenth the defence continued stronger than the
attack ; nor did this state of things undergo any change
until gunpowder came into use with artillery. From
that moment the attack has never ceased to be superior
to the defence.
Down to the twelfth century it does not appear that
towns were defended otherwise than by fortified walls
with flankirig towers, or by simple palisades with a
ditch, having wooden towers, or bastiUes, at intervals ;
which was the Eoman method : but at this time the land
was covered with castles, and experience had proved
that a castle could defend itself better than a city. In
fact, one of the most admitted principles of fortification
at the present day consists in opposing the greatest
possible front to the enemy; because the greater the
fi-ont, the greater the envelope which it requires, and
the longer and more considerable, therefore, must be the
labour of the besiegers. But when it was necessary to
have the battering engines close to the waUs ; when, to
destroy the works of the besieged, only the sap, the ram,
the mine, or engines of inconsiderable range of projection
2 8 DETACHED FOETS INTEODtJCED IN THE 12tH CENTUET.
were employed; wlien the assault could only be madd
by means of the -wooden towers already described, or
by scaling the walls, or through breaches ill-made and
diiScult of access, the more the garrison was concen-
trated, the more strength it possessed. For the besieg-
ing army, however numerous it might be, when once
obliged to come to close quarters, could only have at
any given point a force equal, at the utmost, to that of
the besieged. On the other hand, walls of great extent,
which could be attacked suddenly by a numerous army
on several points at the same instant of time, divided
the forces of the besieged; and required an army at
least equal to the investing force to man the walls pro-
perly, and to repel attacks which frequently only be-
came known at the moment of their execution.
In order to do away with the inconvenience arising
from having great fronts to fortify, towards the close of
the twelfth century the idea was started of establishing,
in advance of the main walls with their flanking towers,
isolated fortresses or detached forts, intended to keep
the assailant at a distance from the body of the place,
and to force him to draw out his lines in contravallation
to such an extent that an immense army would be re-
quired to guard them. With the artillery of modern
times, the converging fire of the besieging army gives it
a superiority over the (diverging fire of the besieged;
but before the invention of cannon the attack could only
be made within a very short distance of the walls, and
always in a direction perpendicular to the front attacked.
The besieged had, therefore, an advantage in opposing
to the assailant isolated points, not commanding one
another, but well defended; the forces of the enemy
were thereby scattered, as he was thus obliged to under-
take several simultaneous attacks, upon points chosen
ADVANTAGES OP DETACHED FORTS. 29
by the besieged, and of course well furnished by them
with the means of resistance. If the assailant left in his
rear those isolated strongholds, in order to attack the
fronts of the city, he was open to be taken in the rear by
the garrisons of the detached forts just at the moment
of delivering the assault, and his position was therefore
bad. Sometimes, in order to avoid having to lay siege
regularly to each of these forts, the besiegers, if they
had a numerous army, erected hastilles, or towers of
stone laid without mortar, or of timber or earth, such as
the Romans were in the habit of erecting, established
lines of contravallation around the isolated fortresses,
and having thus hemmed in their garrisons, attacked the
main body of the place.
All the preliminary operations Of sieges were long and
uncertain ; large supplies of timber and projectiles were
required ; and it frequently happened that the works of
contravallation, the moveable towers, the fixed bastilles
of wood and the engines, had hardly been completed,
when a vigorous sortie of the besieged or a night attack
destroyed by fire and steel the labour of many months.
To prevent these disasters, the besieged formed their
lines of contravallation with double rows of strong pali-
sades of timber, one behind the other, at the distance of
a pike-length, (three to four yards) ; then, excavating a
ditch along the front, they made use of the earth so
obtained to fill in the space between the palings; they
covered their machines and their wooden towers, moveable
and stationary, with ox and horse hides, raw or boiled, or
with a kind of thick woollen stuflf, so as to render them
proof against incendiary projectiles. It often happened
that the parts played by the hostile forces were reversed,
and that the assailants, driven back by the sorties of
the garrisons and forced to take refuge in their camp.
20 FEEaUENCY OE SOETIES.
became besieged in their turn. In all ages, the works of
approacli in sieges have been long and beset with. diflS.-
culties ; but in the days of which we write, much more
than at the present time, it was the custom of the be-
sieged to make frequent sorties from their walls, either
to skirmish at the barriers and prevent the enemy from
establishing fixed works, or to destroy the works already
executed by the assailants.
Armies were carelessly guarded, as always occurs with
irregular and ill- disciplined troops ; they trusted to the
palisades for keeping out the enemy, and every one rely-
ing upon his neighbour for guarding the works, it fre-
quently happened that a hundred or so of men-at-arms,
issuing silently from their gates at dead of night, pene-
trated without meeting a sentinel to the very heart of
the encamped army, set fire to their machines of war,
and cutting the tent-ropes to increase the disorder, were
able to retire before the bulk of the army could get to
their legs. In the chronicles of the twelfth, thirteenth,
and fourteenth centuries, these surprises are of daily
occurrence, nor "were the armies a whit more careful on
the morrow. It was generally also during the night
that, by means of incendiary projectiles, they endea-
voured on either side to set fire to the timber works
used in the siege.
The Orientals possessed projectiles of this nature which
struck great terror into the armies of the West, a fact
which would lead us to suppose that they were imac-
quainted with their composition, at least during the
crusades of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries; and
they had powerful machines " which differed from those
' "One evening it happened that the Turks brought an engine, which they
cnlled the pierrihre, a terrible engine of destruction; and they set it up over
against the chaz-chateilz (a wooden tower in advance of the walls j vide Du Cange,
THE NORMAN CASTLES. 3 1
of the Occidentals, as these latter when they adopted
them gave them names which indicate their origin— as
TurJcish engines, Turkish pierrieres.
"We cannot doubt that the crusades, during which so
many memorable sieges were effected, improved the means
of attack, and that consequently important modifications
were introduced into the defence of fortified places.
Down to the thirteenth century fortification relies chiefly
upon its passive force, on the mass and the position of its
walls. It sufficed to enclose a feeble garrison in towers
and behind walls of great height and thickness, to enable
them to hold out a long time against assailants whose
means of attack were weak. The Norman castles, which
were erected in such numbers by those new conquerors
of the north-west of France and in England, presented
masses of building which defied all attempts at escalade
because of their height, and which were almost beyond
the reach of the sap. The builders, moreover, were
always careful to plant, as far as it was possible, these
castles upon elevated spots, on some table-land or
high-up level of rock, or even on artificial hillocks; to
surround them with deep ditches, so as to render it
impossible to undermine them ; and as a refuge, in the
event of surprise or treason, the outer enceinte of the
castle contained always an isolated donjon or keep, com-
s. V. helfredns, vol. vii. p. 345), by which Messire Gaultier Curel and I kept watch
during the night. By the which engine they threw on us the fire gregeois a plcmte
(Greek fire), which was the moet horrible thing that ever I saw in my life. . . . The
manner of the Cheek fire was in this wise, that in front it was of the bigness of a
tun, and the tail of it stretched behind to the length of about half a yard (cmssi
grant comme un, grant glaive). It made such a noise in its coming as if it were a
thunderbolt falling from heaven, and seemed to me like a great dragon flying in the
air, and shewed so great a light, that in our lines it was as light as day, so great a
flame of fire was there. Thrice during that night did they cast the said fire from
the said pierriire, and four times from the catapult of the tower." — (Jommlle, Hist,
de Saint Louys^
32 ACTIVITY OP DEFENDERS NECESSARY.
manding the whole of the works, itself frequently sur-
rounded by a moat and a wall [chemise), and which from
its position generally close to the outside, and the great
height of its walls, would enable a few men to hold in
check a large body of assailants, or to escape if the place
were no longer tenable.
But after the first crusades, and when the feudal sys-
tem had placed in the hands of some of the nobles a
power almost equal to that of the king, it became ne-
cessary to discard the system of passive fortification,
indebted to its mass only for its defensive power, and
adopt a system of fortification which would give to the
defence an activity equal to that of the attack, and re-
quire at the same time more numerous garrisons. It
no longer sufiiced (and the terrible Simon de Montfort
had proved the fact) to be in possession of massive
walls, of castles built upon steep rocks, from the sum-
mit of which an assailant without active means of at-
tack might be despised : it was necessary to defend those
walls and those towers, and to furnish them with nume-
rous troops, with engines and projectiles ; it was neces-
sary to multiply the means of inflicting injury on the
besiegers, to render all his efforts unavailing, by effect-
ing combinations which he could not foresee, and, above
all, to place the garrison beyond the reach of surprises
or coups-de-main : for it not unfrequently happened that
a place of great strength and well furnished vsdth all the
munitions of war fell beneath the sudden attack of a
small troop of daring soldiers, who, passing over the
bodies of the guards at the barriers, seized on the gates,
and in this way secured for the main body of the army
an entrance into the town .
Towards the end of the twelfth century, and during
the first half of the thirteenth, the means of attack and
THE ENGINES OF WAR. 33
defence, as we have said, were much improved, and
especially by their being more methodically carried out.
We see, then, for the first time in armies and fortified
places, engineers {ingegneors) specially intrusted with the
construction of the engines intended for attack and de-
fence. Amongst these engines there were some which
were at the same time defensive and offensive, that is to
say, constructed so as to protect the pioneers and batter
the wall ; others were offensive merely. When escalade
(the first means of attack almost always employed) was
not successful, and the gates were too strongly armed to
be forced, then it became necessary to undertake a for-
mal siege ; it was then that the besiegers erected towers
of wood, moving on rollers (haffraiz), which they endea-
voured to construct loftier than the walls of the town or
place besieged, and a kind of moveable platform or gang-
way called chat, gat, or gate, the Koman musculus which
Csesar describes at the siege of Marseilles, formed of wood
and covered with planks, iron, and hides, which was
pushed to the foot of the walls, and which afforded a
covering to the assailants when they wanted either to
employ the mouton or bosson (the battering-ram of the
ancients), or to undermine the towers or curtains by
the use of pickaxes, or, lastly, to carry forward earth or
fascines to fill up the moat.
In the poem of the crusade against the Albigenses,
Simon de Montfort frequently uses the gate, which
appears not only intended to allow the besiegers to sap
the foot of the walls under cover, but also to play the
part of the moving tower, in raising a body of troops to
the level of the parapet : —
" The Count de Montfort commands : . . . Advance ye now
the gate and ye will take Toulouse. . . . And they (the French)
push forward the gate with shouts and shrill cries ; over the
D
34 THE ENGINES OF WAE.
space betwixt tlie wall (of tlie town) and the castle it advances
with short leaps, like the sparrow-hawk when it hunts down
the small birds. Straight forward comes the stone launched by
the catapult {trebuchet) , and strikes it so fierce a blow on its
topmost plank, that it breaks open and tears asunder its leathern
co-vering. ... If you turn the gate, cry the barons (to the
Count de Montfort), you wiU save it from these strokes. Par
Dieu, says the Count, and we shall try that ere very long.
And when the gate turns, it goes on again with short and
broken leaps. The catapult takes aim, makes ready its charge,
and deals it so rude a stroke the second time, that the iron and
steel, the beams and bars, are cut and broken."
And furtlier on : —
" The Count de Montfort has gathered together his knights,
the bravest and best men of the siege ; he has furnished it (the
gate) with good defences covered with iron on the face, and he
has put therein his companies of knights, well covered by their
armour, and with their visors down : so they push the gate
vigorously and quick. But the men of the town are well ex-
perienced ; they have made ready their catapults, and placed in
the slings fine pieces of cut rock, which, when the cords are
loosed, fly impetuous, and strike the gate on the front and flanks
so truly, that from doors and floor, from roof and sides, the
splintered timber flies on all sides, and that, of those who drive
it forward, many are thrown down. And throughout the whole
town there is a cry, — 'Far Dieu! dame cat will never catch
the rats ^' "
Guillaume Guiart referring to the siege of Boves by-
Philip Augustus, speaks thus of the cats : —
" Devant Boves fit I'oat de France,
Qui contre lea Flamans contance,
» Mist, de la croisade contre les herUiques Albigeois (Hist, of the Crusade against
the Albigenses), publ. by C. Fauriel, Collect, de docum. inedits sur I'hist. de
France, 1« serie, and the MS. of the Imp. Lib. .(fonds La Valli6re, N». 91). This
MS. is by a contemporary, an eye-witness of the facts he relates ; the exactness of
the details gives this poem a great interest j we would particularly direct the at-
tention of the reader to the description of the gate and of its progressing ly little
leaps, which affords a graphic imagat of the advance of these heavy pieces of frame-
work carried forward on rollers, with sudden jerks. Such detiuls as these, to be
described so picturesquely, must have been seen.
THE ENGINES OP WAR.
3S
Li mineur pas ne sommeillent,
Un chat bon et fort appareillent,
Taut eurent dessous, et tant cavent,
Qu'nne grant part du mur destravent . . .' "
And in the year 1205 : —
" Un chat font sur le pent atraire,
Dont piega mention feismes.
Qui fit de la roohe meiame,
Li mineur desous se lancent,
Le fort mur ^ miner commencent,
Et font le chat si aombrer.
Que riens ne les pent encombrer "."
In order to protect the labourers who were making
a causeway to cross a branch of the Nile, Saint Louis
''caused to be made two towers (haffrais), which are
called chas chateih. For there were two castles {ehateih)
before the cats or galleries {chas), and two houses behiad
to receive the strokes which the Saracens dealt by
their engines, whereof they had sixteen with which they
did wonders'"." The assailants supported their towers
' Before Boves was the army of France, which acts against the Flemings. The
miners do not sleep, but prepare a cliat good and strong; and so many get under
it and so hard they work, that they destroy a great portion of the wall.
" A cat is drawn upon the bridge, which we have already mentioned as being
a portion of the rock itself; the miners rush under it, commence to undermine the
strong wall, and have the cat so well covered, that nothing can reach those within.
• The Sire de Joinville, Hist, dm roy Saint Louys, edit. 1668. Du Gauge, p. 37.
In his observations, p. 66, Du Cange thus explains this passage: — "The king.
Saint Louis, had therefore constructed two ieffrois, or wooden towers, to guard
those who were working at the causeway; and those towers were called chats-
chateils, that is to say cati castellati, because above these cats {chats) there were
castles. For these were not galleries simply, as the cats were, but galleries de-
fended by towers and leffrois. Saint Louis, in one of his epistles, speaking of this
causeway, says : — Saraceni autem i contra totis resistentes conatibus machinis
nostris guas erexeramiiSj ibidem macMnas ofposuerunt gua/m/pl/tires, quibus casfella
nostra lignea, qiicc super passum collocarifeceranms eimdem, conqtiassata tapidiius
et confracta combusserunf totaliter igne grceco .... And I believe that the lower
story of these towers (chateils) were used as cats and galleries, wherefore the cats
of this description were called chas chdtels, that is to say, as I have already ob-
served, cats fortified by castles. The author who has described the siege which
was laid to Zara by the Venetians in the year 1346, lib. ii. c. 6, aptid Joan. Jjudum
de regno Dalmat., gives also an account of this kind of cat : — Alivd erat hoc
ingenium, unus cattus ligneus satis debilis erat confectionis, quern machincB jadree
scepms jactando penetrabant, in quo erat constrncta quadam emineas turris duorum
D 2
36 THE ENGINES OF WAR.
and cats by battering macMnes, catapults (trebucheis,
triluquiaux), mangonels (mangoniaux), calahres and pier-
riers, and by crossbow-men protected by boulevards or
palisades filled in with earth and wattles, or by trencbes,
fascines, and mantelets. Those several engines {tre-
huchetSy calahres, mangonels, and pierriers) were worked
by counterpoise, and possessed great accuracy in their
aim''; they could do no more, however, than destroy
the crest-works and hinder the besieged from keeping
upon their walls, or dismount their machines.
propngnaadorwm. Ipsam duce maximce cmmca swpportahcmt. And because these
machines were not simple chats, they were called chats-fomx (false cats), being
made in the form of turrets or towers, and nevertheless used as cats. And it is
thus we should understand the following passage of Froissart : — ' On the day after,
there came to the duke of Normandy two master-engineers, and said — Sir, if you
will let as home tv>nber and workmen we will makefoii/r great chaffoMX (some copies
says chats) which would he hrought close to the walls and shovld he high enough to
overtop them' Whence comes the word eschaffamx (scaffolds) amongst us, to signify
a raised wooden platform." — See the Seciteil de Bowgogne, by M, Perard, p. 395.
y See Etudes stir le passe et I'avenir de I'a/rtillerie (Studies of the Past and
Future of Artillery), by Prince Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, Presid. of the Bepubl.,
vol. ii. This work, characterized by much learned research, is certainly the most
complete of all those on the subject of ancient artillery; the description given of
the trehuchet, by the illustrious author, is as follows : — " It consisted of a beam
called verge or fliche, turning round a horizontal axis supported upon uprights.
At one extremity of the beam was fixed a counterpoise, and at the other a sling
which contained the projectile. To make ready the machine, that is to say, to
lower the verge, a winch was employed. The sling was the part of the machine of
most importance, and according to experiments and calculations inserted by Colonel
Dufour in his interesting Memoire, On the Artillery of the Ancients, (Geneva,
1840) this sling increased the range to more than double, that is to say, that if the
Jliche had terminated merely en euilleron, or in the form of a bowl, as was the case
with certain hurling engines used by the nations of antiquity, the projectile, every-
thing else being equal, would have been thrown to only half the distance it was
with the sling.
" The experiments which we have made, on a small scale, have yielded the same
result."
A machine of this kind was executed at full size, by the orders of the President
of the Eepublic, in 1850, and tried at Vincennes. Thejlkche was 33.79 feet long,
the counterpoise being fixed at 9,900 lbs. ; and, after some preliminary experiments,
a 24 pounder was hurled to a distance of 191 yards, a bomb of 0.22 m., filled vrith
earth, to the distance of 155 yards, and bombs of 0.27 and 0.32 m. respectively, to
131 yards. (See the Report addressed to the Minister of War by Captain Fav6,
vol. ii. p. 38.)
THE MINE. 37
From the earliest times the mine had been used to
destroy portions of the walls and eflfect a breach. The
miners, in so far of course as the nature of the ground
permitted, cut a trench in the rear of the ditch, passed
underneath, reached the foundations, sapped them and
underpinned them with shores of timber covered with
pitch and grease; then set fire to the shores and the
walls fall. The besiegers, in order to protect themselves
from these subterraneous works, established generally
on the reverse of the ditch either palisades, or a con-
tinuous wall, the latter of which was a true covered-way
which commanded the approaches, obliging the assail-
ants to commence their mine at a considerable distance
from the ditches; or, as a last resource, they counter-
mined with the view of reaching the gallery of the
assailants, whom, in that case, they drove back, or
suffocated by throwing burning fascines into the gal-
leries, and destroyed their works. There exists a
curious Eeport of the seneschal of Carcassonne, Guil-
laume des Ormes, addressed to Queen Blanche, regent
of France during the absence of Saint Louis on the
raising of the siege laid to that place by Trencavel in
1240 '', At that period the city of Carcassonne was not
defended in the way we now find it " ; the fortifications
consisted merely of the Yisigoth walls, repaired in the
twelfth century, with a first enciente (or lists), which
could not have been of any great importance (see fig. 9),
and some out-works (barbicans). The detailed bulletin
of the operations of attack and defence of this place,
• See BiMioth. de Vecole des Chartes, vol. vii. p. 363, Eeport published by
M. Drouet d'Arcq. This text is reproduced in the work by Prince Napoleon
Bonaparte (Napoleon III.), already quoted.
» Saint liouis and Philip the Bold executed immense works of fortification at
Carcassonne, to which we shall have occasion to return.
38 SIEGE OE CAECASSONNE IN 1240.
given by the senesclial, Guillaume des Ormes, is in
Latin, of whicli the following is a translation : —
" To tlie excellent and illustrious lady, Blanche, by the Grace
of God Queen of the Frencli, Guillaume des Ormes, senesclial
of Carcassonne, her humble, devoted, and faithful servant,
greeting : —
"Madam, these presents are to make known to your Ex-
cellency that the town of Carcassonne was besieged, by the
self-called viscount and his accomplices, on Monday, Sept. 17,
1240. Whereupon we, who were in the place, instantly took
from them the bourg (or suburb) of Graveillant, which lies m
front of the Toulouse gate, and there we found great store of
timber fit for carpentry uses, which was of great service. The
said bourg extends from the city barbican to the angle of the
said (fortified) place. The same day the enemy were enabled to
carry a mill which we held, by reason of the multitude of peo-
ple which they had (with them) " ; and afterwards Olivier de
Termes, Bernard Hugon de Serre-Longue, G^raut d'Aniort,
and those who were with them, encamped between the angle of
the town and the water ° ; and on the same day, by the aid of
the ditches which were there, and by cutting up the roads lying
between them and us, they shut themselves in, in order that we
might not be able to go to them.
" On the other side, between the bridge and the castle bar-
bican, were established Pierre de Fenouillet, and Eenaud du
Buy, Guillaume Fort, Pierre de la Tour, and many others of
Carcassonne. At the one place and the other, they had so
many crossbow-men that nobody could go out from the town.
" Afterwards they pointed a mangonel against our barbican ;
and we, on our side, forthwith planted in the barbican a Turkish
petraria *, exceeding good, which threw projectiles towards the
said mangonel and around it; in such sort that, when they
'■ Probably the moulin du roi lying between the barbican of the castle and the
river Aude.
"= On the west side, see fig. 11.
'' " Postea dressarunt mangonellum quemdam ante nostram barbacanam, et nos
contra ilium statim dressavimus quamdam petrariam turquesiam valde bonam,
infra . . . ."
SIEGE OF CARCASSONNE IN 1240. 39
wanted to fire upon us, immediately they saw the pole of our
pefraria in motion, they took to flight and abandoned altogether
their mangonel ; and there they formed ditches and palisades.
We also, every time we fired off the petraria, retired from
around it, because we could not go to them, on account of the
ditches, fences, and wells which were there.
" Afterwards, Madam, they began a mine against the barbican
of the Narbonnaise gate « ; and forthwith we, having heard the
noise of the work underground, made a counter mine, and we
made in the inside of the barbican a great and strong wall of
stones laid dry, so that we could thereby" protect the full half of
the barbican ; and then they set fire to the hole they were
making, in such wise that the wood having been burnt, a por-
tion of the front of the barbican fell down.
"They began to mine against another turret of the lists ^;
we countermined and succeeded in taking . possession of the
chamber which they had formed. They began, thereupon, to
run a mine between us and a certain wall and they destroyed
two crenelles of the lists ; but we set up there a good and strong
paling between them and us.
" They undermined also the angle of the town wall, in the
direction of the bishop's housed, and by dint of mining they
' To the east, see fig. 11.
' To the south, see fig. 11. The name of lists Q,ices) was given to an external
wall or palisade of wood, formed heyond the walls, which formed a kind of covered-
way ; the lists were almost always protected by a shallow moat, and sometimes
there was a second ditch between them and the town walls. By an extension of
the term, the name of lists was ^ven to the space comprised between the palisades
and the town walls, and even to the external enceintes, when, at a later period,
they were built of masonry and flanked by towers. The palisades which surrounded
a camp were also called lists : — " Licis, castrorum aut urbium repagula." Hpist.
anom/mi de eapta wrbe CP., ann. 1204, apud Marten., vol. i. Anecd., coll. 786:
" Exercitum nostrum grossis palis circumcinximus et liciis." Will. Guiart MS. : —
'* . . . L^ tendent les tentes faitices.
Puis environnent Post de lices."
Le Roman de Garin : —
" Devant les lices eommencent li hustins."
Chiill. a/rchiep. Tyr. contimiata Hist. Oallico idiomate, v. 5. Ampliss. Collect.
Marten., coL 620 : " Car quant li chrestiens vindrent devant Alexandre, le baillif
les fist herbergier, et faire bones lices enter eux, etc." (Du Cange, Gloss.)
B At the south-west angle, see fig. 11.
40 SIEGE OF CARCASSONNE IN 1240.
arrived under a certain Saracen wall'', at tlie wall of the lists ;
but immediately as we perceived this, we made a good and
strong paling between us and them, higher up in the lists, and
we countermined. Thereupon they fired their mine and flung
us to a distance of some ten fathom from our crenelles. But we
forthwith made a good and strong paling and thereon a good
brattish' (or breast- work) (15) with good archieres^ : so that
none amongst them dared to come near us in this quarter.
"They began also. Madam, a mine against the barbican of
the gate of Rhodez', and they kept beneath, because they
wished to arrive at our walls™, and they made a marvellous
great passage ; but we, having perceived it, forthwith made a
great and strong paling both on one side and the other thereof ;
we countermined likewise, and having fallen in with them, we
carried the chamber of their m.ine °.
" Know also, Madam, that since the beginning of the siege
^ Saracen wall : probably some out-work of the ancient Visigoth fortification.
' " Sretaehice, castella lignea, quibua castra et oppida muuiebantur ; gallicS
iretesques, hreteques, hreteches." — (Du Cange, Gloss.)
" La ville fit mult richement garnir.
Lea fosses fere, et les murs enforcir,
Les bretesclies drecier et esTjaudir." — (Le Roman de Garin,)
*' — As bretecbes motiterent, et au mur quernelfi . . ,
— Les breteches garnir, et les pertus garder.
— Entour ont breteecbes leviSes,
Bien plancM^es et quemel6s." — [Le Homan d6 Vacees.)
.... The bretSohes (in old English Brettis, Brattish) were often understood aa
hoitrds or hoards. The bretachial spoken of by the seneschal, GuUlaume des Ormes,
in his Report addressed to Queen Blanche, were temporary works erected behind
the palisade to enable those within to attack the assailants after they had effected
a breach. We give an illustration (15) of the works alluded to by the seneschal of
Carcassonne.
i* ArcMhres : long and narrow slits made in the masonry of towers and fortified
walls, or in hoarding and palisades, to allow arrows and bolts to be shot agdnst the
assailants.
' On the north, see fig. 11.
'" This passage, as well as those which precede it, describing the mines of the
besiegers, clearly proves that at that time the city of Carcassonne was provided
with a double enceinte: the besiegers in fact are shewn to have passed under the
outer enciente for the purpose of undermining the inner rampart.
" Thus, when the besieged became aware of the miners being at work, they
erected palisades both above and below the supposed opening of the gallery, in order
to enclose the assailants between barricades which they were obliged to force before
they could make any further advance.
SIEGE OF CARCASSONNE IN 1240.
41
JFig. 15. Part of Carcassonne defended by ■wood-'wori: when a 'breacli -was made.
they have never ceased to make assaults upon us ; but we had
such good crossbows, and men animated with so true a desire
to defend themselves, that it was in their assaults they suffered
their heaviest losses.
" At last, on a certain Sxmday, they called together all their
men-at-arms, crossbow-men and others, and all, together, assailed
the barbican, at a point below the castle". We descended to
the barbican, and hurled so many stones and bolts that we
forced them to abandon the said assault, wherein several of
them were killed and wounded K
° The principal barbican, situate on the side of the Aude, to the west, see fig. 11.
p In efiect, it was necessary to descend from the castle situate on the crest of
the hill, to the barbican, which commanded the faubourg lying at the base of the
escarpment. See the plan of the city of Carcassonne, after the siege of 1240 j
fig. 16.
42 SIEGE or CARCASSONNE IN 1240.
"But tte Sunday following, after the feast of St. Micliael,
they made a very great assault on us; and we, thanks to
G-od and our people, who shewed great good will in defending
themselves, repulsed them; several amongst them were killed
and wounded ; none of our men, thanks be to God, were either
killed or received a mortal wound. But at last, on Monday,
Oct. 11, towards evening, they heard news that your people,
Madam, were coming to our aid, and they set fire to the houses
of the bourg of Carcassonne. They have destroyed wholly the
houses of the Brothers Minors, and the houses of a monastery
of the blessed Virgin Mary, which were in the bourg, to obtain
the wood wherewith they made their palisades. All those who
were engaged in the said siege abandoned it secretly that same
night, even those who were resident in the bourg.
"As for us, we were well prepared, to God be thanks, to
await. Madam, your assistance, so much so that none of our
people were in want of provisions, how poor soever they might
be; nay more. Madam, we had in abundance corn and meat
enough to enable us to wait during a long time, if so it was
necessary, for your succour. Know, Madam, that these evil
doers killed, on the second day after their arrival, thirty-three
priests and other clerks, whom they found on entering the
bourg; know moreover. Madam, that the Seigneur Pierre de
Voisin, your constable of Carcassonne, Raymond de Capendu,
and Gerard d'Ermenville, have borne themselves very well in
this afiair. ]N^evertheless the constable, by his vigilance, his
valour, and his coolness, distinguished himself above all others.
As for the other matters concerning these parts, we will be able.
Madam, to speak the truth to you respecting them when we
shall be in your presence. Know therefore. Madam, that they
had begun to mine against us strongly in seven places. We
have nearly everywhere countermined, and have not spared our
pains. They began to mine from the inside of their houses, so
that we knew nothing thereof until they arrived at our lists.
"Done at Carcassonne, Oct. 13, 1240.
" Know, Madam, that the enemy have burnt the castles and
the open places which they passed in their flight."
As for tlie battering-ram of the ancients, it was cer-
THE BATTERING-EAM. 43
tainly employed in battering the base of the walls in
sieges, from the twelfth century down. We borrow an-
other passage from the Provencal poem of the Crusade
against the Albigenses, a passage which can leave no
doubt upon this point. Simon de Montfort wishes to
succour the castle of Beaueaire which holds out for him,
and is besieged by the inhabitants ; he besieges the town,
but has not constructed machines sufficient for his pur-
pose ; the assaults are without result ; during this time,
the people of Provenye press harder and harder on the
castle (capitole).
" , . . . But tliose of the town liave raised against (the men
of the castle) engines wherewith they batter the capitole and the
watch-tower in such sort that the beams, the stone, and the
lead are shattered by them ; and on Easter-day is prepared the
bosson, which bosson is long, straight, sharp, shod with iron ;
which so strikes, cuts, and smashes, that the wall is damaged,
and several stones fly from it, here and there ; but the besieged,
when they perceive this, are not discouraged. They make a
noose of rope, which is attached to a machine of wood, and by
means thereof the head of the bosson is caught and held fast.
Whereat the men of Beaueaire are greatly troubled, until there
conies the engineer who set the bosson in motion. And many
of the besiegers have planted themselves on the crags, to try
and split the wall by striking it with sharpened pick-axes.
And the men of the capitol, having perceived them, sew up,
mingled together in a cloth, fire, sulphur, and flax, which they
let down at the end of a chain alongside the waU, and when the
fire has taken, and the sulphur melts, the flame and smell choke
the pioneers to such a degree that not one of them can or does
remain. But they go to their petrarits (catapults) and make
them play so well that they break and destroy the barriers
and beams i.-"
This curious passage shews what were the means em-
" Passage of Proven9al Poetry, p. 350.
44 SIEGE OF TOTTLOUSE.
ployed, in those times, for battering the walls at close
quarters, when the object sought was to effect a breach,
and the situation of the place did not allow of piercing
galleries for the mines, placing shores under the foun-
dations, or of setting fire to the works attacked. As
regards the means of defence, there is mention at every
page, in this history of the crusade against the Albi-
genses, of barriers, lists of wood, and palisades. When
Simon de Montfort is obliged to return to besiege Tou-
louse, notwithstanding his having previously razed almost
all the walls to their foundations, he finds the city de-
fended by ditches and works constructed of timber. The
castle called the Narbonnais, alone, is still in his power.
The brother of the Count, Guy de Montfort, is the first
to arrive with his terrible fanatics. The knights have
dismounted, they break in the barriers and the gates,
they force their way into the streets ; but there they are
received by the inhabitants and the men of the Count de
Toulouse, and are forced to beat a retreat, when Simon
arrives upon the scene, furious : —
" How comes it/' he cries to Ms brotter, " that ye have not,
ere this, destroyed the town and burnt its houses ?"
" We have attacked the town," replies Count Guy, " beaten
in the defences, and found ourselves pell-mell with the inhabit-
ants in the streets ; there have we met knights and burghers,
and workmen, armed with clubs, and bills, and sharp axes, who,
with great shouts and hisses and deadly blows, have sent you,
by us, your rents and your taxes, and Don Guy, your marshal,
can tell you how many silver marcs they flung us down from
their roof-tops ! By the fealty I owe you, not a man among us
is so brave, but, when they hunted us out through their gates, he
would have liked better a fever or a pitched battle . . . ."
The Count de Montfort, however, is obliged to imder-
take a regular siege, after renewed and fruitless attacks.
" He posts his divisions {batailks) in the gardens, he furnishes
SIEGE OP TOULOUSE, 45
the walls of the castle and the orchards with crossbows on
wheels *' and sharp arrows. On their side, the townsmen under
their liege lord strengthen the barriers, occupy the grounds
round about, and unfurl in divers places their banners, with
two red crosses and the ensign of the Count (Rajrmond) ; whilst
upon the scaffolds " and in the galleries ' the most valiant and
steady are posted, armed with poles shod with iron, and with
stones to hurl down upon the enemy. Below, on the groimd,
have remained others, bearing lances and dartz porcarissals, to
defend the lists, to the end that none of the assailants should be
enabled to near the palisade. At the embrasures (fenestrals)
and loop-holes archers defend the ambons and the parapets,
with long bows of divers sorts, and hand crossbows. Tubs"
are placed about full of bolts and arrows. Everywhere round
about the crowd of people are armed with axes, clubs, poles shod
with iron ; whilst noble dames and the women of the city carry
to them crocks and great stones, easy to hold and throw. The
town is bravely fortified at its gates ; bravely also and in good
array do the barons of France, well stocked with fire and
ladders, and heavy stones, draw near to the place from divers
directions to seize on the barbicans^ . . . ."
But the siege becomes protracted, and the winter
conies; the Count de Montfort postpones his prepara-
tions for the attack until spring.
" . . . . Within and without are to be seen none but workmen,
who fill the town, the gates and boulevards, the walls, the
brattishes and the double palisades {cadafalcs dobliers), the
moats, the lists, the bridges, the stair-flights. In Toulouse are
none to be seen but carpenters, who make trebuchets and other
engines, active and powerful, which in the castle of Narbonne,
' Balestas tornissas (verses 6,313 and foil.) : probably as in the text.
' Cadafals, probably iretachice, see fig. 15.
' Corseras, hoards, or parapets probably ; cowrsi&res.
" Semals. The wooden tubs in which the grapes are carried at harvest-time
are still sometimes called semals, but more frequently comportes. They are oval-
shaped, vpith wooden handles, through which two poles are passed for the purpose
of carri^e.
» Bocals, entrances to the lists.
46 SIEGE OF TOULOUSE.
against wliicli they are pointed, leave neither tower, nor room,
nor parapet, nor a whole wall, standing . . . ."
Simon de Montfort returns, he invests the town more
closely, he seizes on the two towers which command the
banks of the Garonne, he fortifies the hospital which lies
outside the ramparts, and converts it into a fortress with
moats, palisades, and barbicans complete. He strengthens
his lines with sunk ditches, and walls pierced with seve-
ral heights of embrasures. But after many an assault,
and many a feat of arms devoid of good result to the
besiegers, the Count de Montfort is killed by a projectile,
launched from a pierrier worked by some women near
to Saint-Sernin, and the siege is raised.
On his return from his first crusade. Saint Louis
wished to make Carcassonne one of the strongest places
in his domaine. The inhabitants of the faubourgs, who
had opened their gates to the army of Trencavel '', were
driven out of their ruined dwellings, burnt by him whose
cause they had espoused, and their ramparts were razed
to the ground. It was not until seven years after this
siege that Saint Louis, moved by the entreaties of
Bishop Eadulfus, granted by letters patent to the exiled
burghers permission to rebuild a town on the opposite
bank of the Aude, not wishing to have near the city
subjects of such doubtful fidelity. The royal saint began
by rebuilding the external enceinte, which was not of
sufficient strength, and which had been much injured by
the troops of Trencavel. He erected the enormous tower,
called la Barbacane^ as likewise the ramps which com-
manded the banks of the Aude and the bridge, and
which allowed the garrison of the castle to make sorties
>■ The faubourga which surrounded the city of Carcassonne were enclosed by
walls and palisades at the date of the siege described by the Seneschal Guillaume
des Ormes.
rOETIFICATIONS OF CARCASSONNE, 47
■without being interrapted by the besiegers, were these
even masters of the first lines. There is every reason
for believing that the external towers and walls were
erected somewhat hurriedly after the failure of Tren-
cavel's expedition, in order first of all to place the city
beyond the reach of a surprise, whilst the internal en-
ceinte was being repaired and enlarged. The towers of
this external line of wall were open towards the town,
in order to render the possession of them useless to the
besiegers, and the parapets of the curtains are on the
same level as the ground of the lists, so that, if taken,
they could not be used as a rampart against the besieged,
who, being in force, would be able to throw themselves
on the assailants and drive them back into the moats,
Philip the Bold, during the war with the King of
Arragon, prosecuted these works with great activity
untn his death (a,d. 1285). Carcassonne was at that
time a frontier place of great importance, and the King
of France held his parliament there. He erected the
curtains, towers, and gates, on the eastern side'', ad-
vanced the internal line of fortification on the south side,
and had the walls and towers repaired of the old Visigoth
enceinte, "We subjoin (fig. 16), the plan of the place
as thus modified. At A is the great barbican on the
side of the Aude, of which mention has been made, with
its ramps fortified as far as the castle, F. These ramps,
or slopes, are arranged so as to be commanded by the
external defences of the castle ; it was only after having
passed through several gates, and followed various wind-
ings, that the assailant (admitting that he had obtained
possession of the barbican) could arrive at the gate, L ;
« Amongst others, the tower known as that of the Tresau, and the gate called
the Narbormaise.
48
rOETIPICATIONS OF CARCASSONNE.
!Fi^. 16. Plan of Carcassonne as fortified by S. Louis,
A. The great Barbican. B. Gate of Narbonne. C. Gate of the Aude.
D. The great Postern. E. Barhican of the Castle. F. The Castle.
G. The Church. H. The Cloister. I. A Courtyard.
K. The Hall. L. Entrance Passage. M. The Tower of the Treasury.
N. The Moat of the Castle. O. A lofty Tower. P. Barbican of the Postern.
Q. Tower of the Angle. R. Square Tower. S. Ditch or Moat of the City.
T. V. X. Y. The Lists between the inner and outer walls of enceinte, or enclosure.
and here lie ■would be obliged, witbin a narrow space
completely commanded by towers and walls of great
height, and having in his rear an escarpment which
deprived him of all power of bringing up engines or of
FORTIFICATIONS OF CARCASSONNE. 49
using them, to lay siege regularly to tlie castle. On the
side of the town this castle was defended by a wide
moat, N", and a barbican, E, built by Saint Louis. From
the great barbican to the gate of the Aude you ascended
by a narrow path, embattled on the side of the valley so
as to defend the whole of the re-entering angle formed
by the slopes of the castle and the walls of the town.
At B is situate the Narbonnaise gate on the eastern side,
which was provided with a barbican and protected by a
ditch and a second barbican, the latter being palisaded
merely. At S, on the side from which the foot of the
walls could be reached almost on the level, is a wide
moat. This moat and its approaches are commanded by
a strong and lofty tower, 0, itself an isolated fortress,
capable, alone, of sustaining a siege, even were the whole
of the first lines to fall into the hands of the enemy.
We have every reason to believe that this tower com-
municated with the internal walls by means of a subter-
ranean passage which was reached by a well sunk in the
basement of the keep, but which, being at present filled
up, has not yet been discovered. The lists are comprised
between the two enclosures of the Narbonnaise gate at
X, y, as far as the tower at the angle, Q. If the besieg-
ing force took possession of the first defences on the
south side, and wanted, by following the lists, to arrive
at the gate of the Aude at C, he found himself stopped
by a quadrangular tower, E, erected over and upon the
two walls of the enceintes, and furnished with barriers
and battlements. If he succeeded in passing between the
Narbonnaise gate and the barbican at B, — a difficult task,
— he had to cross over, in order to enter, at Y, into the
lists of the north-east, a narrow space, commanded by an
enormous tower, M, called the Tour du Tresau. From
Y to T, he was taken in flank by the high towers of the
50 FORTIFICATIONS OF CAECASSONNE.
Yisigoths, repaired by Saint Louis and Philip the Bold,
and he found a further defence at the angle of the castle.
At D is a great postern protected by a barbican, P;
other posterns are distributed along the enceinte, aUov-
ing the guard to make the round of the lists, and even
to reach the open country, without having to throw
open the principal gates. This was an important point.
It will be observed that the postern opening from the
tower, D, and giving access to the lists, is placed late-
rally, and masked by the projection of the counterfort in
the angle, the sill of this postern being more than two
yards above the external ground level: thus it became
necessary to plant a ladder against it for ingress or
egress. Prom the numberless precautions then taken to
defend the gates, it is natural to suppose that the assail-
ants were in the habit of looking on them as weak points.
The use of artillery has modified this opinion, by chang-
ing the means of attack; but at that time it may be
conceived, that whatever may have been the obstacles
accumulated round an entrance, the besiegers stiU pre-
ferred making an effort to overcome them, to esta-
blishing himself at the foot of a strong tower in order
to undermine it by manual labour, or to batter it by
means of engines of imperfect construction. Therefore
when, during the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth
centuries, they wished to convey a high idea of the
strength of a place, they said it had only one or two
gates. But, as regarded the besieged, and especially
when they had to guard a double line of fortifications,
it was necessary nevertheless to have an easy commu-
nication between these two lines, in order to be able
rapidly to send aid to any given point of attack. This
is the reason why we find, in looking over the internal
enceinte of the Carcassonne, a large number of posterns
FORTIFICATIONS OF CARCASSONNE. 5T
more or less concealed, and the purpose of which was to
enable the garrison to spread themselves over the lists
from several different points at the same given moment,
or to fall rapidly back withia the second walls, if the
first had been carried. Beside the two great public
gates, that of the Aude and the Narbonnaise, we reckon
six open posterns, the internal levels of which are some
yards above the outer ground-level, and access to which,
consequently, could only be had by means of ladders.
There is one, more particularly, pierced in the great cur-
tain of the Bishop's Palace, which is only a little more
than six feet high by somewhat less than a yard in width,
and the sill of which is placed at a level of some thirty-
nine feet above the ground of the lists. In the external
enceinte, we discover another made in the curtain-wall
between the gate of the Aude and the castle : this latter
opens above an escarpment of rocks twenty -two or
twenty-three feet high. Through these openings, in
case of blockade and by means of rope ladders, the be-
sieged could receive during the night emissaries from
without without fear of treachery, or send forth into
the country their messengers or spies. These two pos-
terns, it will be seen, are placed on that side where the
fortifications are inaccessible to the enemy by reason of
the escarpment which overlooks the river Aude. The
latter postern, which is pierced in the wall of the ex-
ternal enceinte, opens into the enclosed space protected
by the great barbican and by the battlemented wall
which followed the ramps of the river gate; it could
thus serve, if need were, for pouring into this enclosure
a company of determined soldiers, to cause a diversion,
in case the enemy should be pressing too hard on the
defences of this gate or on the barbican, by setting fire
to the engines, turrets, or chats, of the besiegers. It is
E 2
52 FORTIFICATIONS OF CARCASSONNE.
certain that a great importance was attached to the
barbicans; for by these the besieged were enabled to
make their sorties. On this ground the barbican of Car-
cassonne is of great interest (fig. 12). Built at the base
of the hill, on the summit of which the castle is erected,
it places this latter in communication with the banks of
the Aude " ; it forces the assailant to keep at a distance
from the ramparts of the castle ; of dimension vast enough
to contain from fifteen to eighteen hundred foot-soldiers,
without reckoning those which manned the walls, it
permitted the concentration of a considerable body of
troops who might, by a vigorous sortie, drive back the
besiegers into the river. The barbican of the castle of
the city of Carcassonne completely masks the gate, B,
the slopes of which descend into the open country.
Those slopes, E, are battlemented right and left. Their
continuity is broken by pierced screen walls, and the
whole work, which ascends by a steep ascent towards
the castle, is enfiladed in its entire length by a tower
and two upper curtain walls. If the besiegers succeeded
in arriving at the top of the first slope, they had to make
a detour in the direction E', and were then taken in
flank ; at F they found a fortified parapet, and further,
a gate strongly defended and embattled; if they got
through this first gate, they had to pass along a parapet
with pierced embrasures, force a barrier, then take a
sudden turn and attack a second gate, G, exposed also
to a flank fire. Having taken this, they found them-
selves before a considerable and well-defended work:
this consisted of a long passage surmounted by two
• The plan which we here give is drawn to a scale of 1 centimHre to 15 mUres.
The barbican of Carcassonne was destroyed in 1821, to allow of the erection of a
mill ; its foundations only exist, but its ramparts are for the most part preserved,
particularly in the portion adjoining the castle, which is the most interesting.
FORTIFICATIONS OP CAECA8S0NNE. ^^
stories, under -whicli they had to pass. The first com-
manded the last gate, by means of a defence of timber-
work, and was pierced with loop-holes the whole length
of the passage ; the second communicated with the
pierced parapet opening either on the exterior on the
side of the slopes, or on the portion over this same
passage. The floor of the first story communicated
with the parapet of the outer walls of the lists only by
means of a small gate. If the assailants succeeded in
obtaining possession of it by escalade, they were taken
in a trap; for, once the small gate closed upon them,
they found themselyes exposed to the projectiles flung
from the battlements of the second story, and the ex-
tremity of the floor being suddenly cut off at H on the
side opposite the entrance, they found it impossible to
advance beyond. If they cleared the passage on the
ground-level, they were stopped by the third gate, H,
in a wall surmounted by the battlements of the third
story, communicating with the upper parapet-walk of
the castle. If, by an almost impossible chance, they
were able to seize on the second story, they found there
no other mode of egress than through a small gate
opening into a second room situate along the walls of
the castle, and whose only means of communication with
the latter was by winding passages which could be
easily barricaded in a moment, and which, moreover,
were defended by strong embrasures. If, in spite of
all these accumulated obstacles, the besiegers forced the
third gate, they then would have to attack the postern, I,
of the castle, guarded by a formidable system of de-
fences: loop-holes, two rows of battlements, one over
the other, a drawbridge, a portcuUis and some embra-
sures. Were this gate carried, they were stUl at a
depth of more than seven yards below the iatemal
54 FORTIFICATIONS OF CARCASSONNE.
courtyard, L, of the castle, whicli they could reach only
along narrow sloping passages, and by passing through
several doors at K.
Supposing the attack was made from the side of the
gate of the Aude, they were stopped by a guard-house,
T, by a gate with a work of timber, and by a double
row of battlements pierced in the floor of an upper
story, communicating with the great south hall of the
castle by means of a passage constructed of wood, which
could be destroyed at a moment's notice; so that, by
taking possession of this upper story, you had effected
nothing. If, after having forced the gate on the ground-
floor, you pushed on in advance along the parapet-way
of the great square tower, S, you came shortly upon
a gate strongly defended with battlements, and built
parallel to the passage, GH. Beyond this gate with
its defences was a second gate, narrow and low, in the
massive inner wall, Z, which had to be forced; then,
finally, you arrived at the postern, I, of the castle. If,
on the contrary (but this was an impossible undertaking),
the assailant presented himself on the opposite side, by
the north lists, he was stopped by a defence at V. On
this side, however, the attack could not be attempted,
for this is the point of the city which is most strongly
defended by nature ; and in order to force the first en-
ceinte between the Tour de Tresau (see fig. 16) and the
angle of the castle, it was necessary first of aU to cUmb
a steep incline, and to scale the crags. Besides, m at-
tacking the north gate, V, the besiegers presented them-
selves in fiank before the defenders who manned the
high walls and towers of the second enceinte. The
massive internal wall, Z, which, starting from the cur-
tain of the castle, advances at right angles as far as
the descent to the barbican, was crowned by transverse
FORTIFICATIONS OF CARCASSONNE. 55
battlements wliicli commanded tlie gate, H, and was
terminated at its extremity by a bartizan, or watch-
turret, which, allowed what was passing in the rampe,
or sloping walk, descending to the barbican, to be seen,
with a view to internal measures of defence in case of
surprise ; or to reconnoitre the troops when returning
from the barbican to the castle.
The castle could thus hold out for a long time, al-
though the town and its environs should be in the hands
of the enemy ; its garrison, defending with ease the bar-
bican and its ramparts, remained masters of the Aude
(the bed of which was at that time closer to the city
than it is at the present day), and could thus receive
their provisions by the way of the river, and prevent
any blockade from being effected on that side ; since it
was quite impossible for a body of troops to take up a
position between this barbican and the Aude without
danger, they having no cover, and the flat and marshy
ground beiag commanded on all sides. The barbican
had the further advantage of placing the king's mill
in communication with the garrison of the castle, and
this mill was itself fortified. A plan of the city of Car-
cassonne, surveyed ia 1774, mentions in its title a great
subterraneous passage existing under the boulevard of
the barbican, but which had been long closed up and
partially filled. This subterraneous passage may have
been intended to establish a secret communication be-
tween this mill and the fortress.
On the side of the town, the castle of Carcassonne was
likewise defended by a great barbican, C, in advance of
the moat. A gate, A', strongly defended, gave entrance
into this barbican ; the bridge, C, communicated with the
principal gate, 0. Yast porticoes, or sheds, N, were pro-
vided for lodging a temporary garrison in case of siege.
J56
PLAN OF CARCASSONNE.
toil DE
lATIUiE.
:'«.v,!^,i|(i|ii!i»»»'':/i*''''"''"''-''¥
■'■■?^vli:*ii«'"!!-;;;;;„;., |
LKCOSTt AINE
Fig. 17. Plan of the Castle of Caroassonne.
A. The onter Gate from the
Barhioan towards the City.
B. Outer Gate of the Castle to
the Country.
C. The Bridge across the Moat.
D. The outer Barhican.
EE'. Passage from the outer
Barhican to the Castle.
F. Parapet to protect the Gate. O. Principal Gate.
G. Second Gate. P & Q. Barracks.
H. Third Gate. B R. The Keep Towers.
I. Postern of the Castle. S. Great Square Watch-tower.
K. Passage. T. Guard-house.
L. Principal Courtyard. V. The North Gate.
M. Small Courtyard. X Y. Towers.
N N N. The Porticoes. Z. Tower Wall.
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OP CARCASSONNE.
SI
rig. 18.
58 FORTIFICATIONS OF CAECASSONNE.
For the ordinary garrison, quarters were provided in
buildings of three stories, Q, P, situate beside the Aude.
Over the portico, N', south side, was a vast salle d'armes,
with pierced loop-holes on the side of the moat, and
with windows opening upon the courtyards. EE were
the keeps, the greatest of these being separated from
the neighbouring buildings by an open space, and only
communicating with these latter by means of wooden
bridges, easily removed. Thus, the castle being taken,
those of the garrison who were left could still find a re-
fuge within this enormous tower, which was completely
closed, and hold out for a time. At S is an immense
watch-tower which overlooks the entire town and its
environs ; a wooden staircase was all that it contained.
The towers, X, Y, the gate, 0, and the intermediate
curtain-walls are of the twelfth century, as likewise the
watch-tower, and the basement of the buildings on the
side of the barbican. These structures were completed
and restored under Saint Louis. The great barbican of
the Aude had two heights of loop-holes and an upper
embattled parapet-walk, which could be furnished with
hoarding.
We give (fig. 18) a bird's-eye view of this castle and its
barbican, which, taken with the plan (fig. 17), will complete
the description we have just given of it ; it will be easy
to mark out the position of each portion of the defences.
We have supposed the fortifications as in a complete
state of defence, and provided with aU their war acces-
sories, of wooden defences, brattishes, hoarding, and ad-
vanced palisades.
But it is requisite, before proceeding further, to ex-
plain fully what these hourds, hoarding, or hoards, were,
and the motives which led to their adoption, from the
twelfth century downwards.
FOETinCATIONS OF CAECASSONNE. 59
The danger of defences of wood on tlie ground-level
had been discovered ; the assailant could easily destroy
them by fire ; and as early as the time of Saint Louis,
the -wooden Hsts and barbicans, so frequently employed
in the preceding century, were replaced by external
walls (enceintes) and by barbicans built of masonry.
They did not, however, entirely abandon the use of
timber defences, but took care they should be placed at
such a height as would render their destruction, by
means of incendiary projectiles, difficult at least, if not
impossible. At that time as now (and the fortifications
of the city of Carcassonne are there to furnish an ex-
ample), when good defences were required, care was
taken to secure everywhere above the ground-plane
which lay at the foot of the walls and towers a minimum
of height, in order to place them all equally beyond the
reach of escalade, along their whole line. This minimum
height is not the same for the two lines of defence, the
inner and outer enceintes ; the curtain- walls of the first
defence are maintained at a height of about thirty-three
feet from the bottom of the moat, or from the crest of
the escarpment to the floor of the hoards, whilst the cur-
tain-walls of the second enceinte are, from the ground-
level of the lists to the floor of the hoards, forty-seven feet
at least. The ground which forms a plateau for the two
enceintes not being horizontal, but presenting, on the
contrary, very considerable differences of level, the ram-
parts follow the natural slopes of the ground, and the
hoards conform to the inclines of the parapet- way. There
were thus, as we see, at that time certain data, rules, and
formulae for military architecture, in the same way that
there were similar rules for religious and civil archi-
tecture. The remaining portion of this article will fur-
nish superabundant proofs, we consider, of this fact.
6o NECESSITY FOE PEOJECTIONS FEOM THE WALLS.
According to tlie system of battlements and loopholes,
or eyelets, pierced in stone parapets, it was not possible
to binder a force of assailants, wben bold and numerous,
and protected by chats covered with skins or cushions,
from undermining the foot of the towers or curtain- walls,
inasmuch as it was impossible from the loopholes, not-
withstanding the inclination of their sectional line, to
see the foot of the fortifications ; nor was it possible to
take aim through the battlements, without at least pro-
jecting one half of the body beyond the line of wall, at
any object at the base. It became necessary, therefore,
to construct projecting galleries, well provided with de-
fences, and which would allow a large number of the
besieged to overhang the base of the wall, so as to be
able to hurl down on an attacking party a perfect hail
of stones and projectiles of every kind. Let fig. 19 be a
curtain- wall crowned by a parapet with battlements and
loopholes, the man placed at A cannot see the pioneer,
B, except on the condition of advancing his head beyond
the battlements; but in that case he completely un-
covers himself, and whenever pioneers were sent forward
to the foot of a wall, care was taken to protect them
whilst at work by discharging showers of arrows and
cross-bolts wherever the besieged were visible. In time
of siege, from the date of the twelfth century'', the
parapets were provided with hoards, C, in order to com-
mand completely the base of the walls by means of a
continuous machicolation, D. Not only did the hoards
perfectly accomplish this object, but they left the de-
fenders entirely free in their movements, as the bringing
^ The castle of the city of Carcassonne is of the commencement of the twelfth
century, and all its towers and curtain-walls were well supplied with hoards, which
must have been of great projection, from the precautions taken to prevent the
sagging {bascule) of the timbers of the floor.
THE HOARDING.
6i
up the supplies of projectiles and the circulation was
carried on behind the parapet at E. Further, when
Fig. 19. A Curtain-'waU witli Battlement and. Loopliolea ; and the Wood-work,
shewing one mode of attack and defence.
A. A Guard. B. A Pioneer. C. The Hoardinff. D. The Machicouha.
£. The Platform, for a Passage inside the Parapet.
these hoards were constructed, besides the continuous
machicolation^ with loopholes, the archeres, or arrow-
6 a THE HOARD, AND THE CAT.
slits, formed in the masonry remained uncovered at their
lower extremity, and allowed the archers and crossbow-
men, who were posted within the parapet, to fire upon
the assailants. With such a system the defence was as
active as possible, and nothing but the lack of projectiles
could afi'ord any respite to the besiegers. We must not
therefore feel surprise if, during some memorable sieges,
after a prolonged defence, the besieged were reduced to
the necessity of tearing the roofs from their houses, de-
molishing the walls of their gardens, and taking up the
pavement of the streets, in order to keep the hoards
supplied with projectiles, and thus force the assailants
back from the foot of the fortifications. These hoards
were readily and easily placed in position ; in times of
peace they were removed. We subjoin the representa-
tion (fig. 20) of the works of approach of a curtain-wall
flanked by towers and with wet moat, in order to render
intelligible the several means of defence and attack to
which we have alluded. In the foreground is a cat, A ;
this is used to fill up the moat, and advances towards the
foot of the wall upon the heaps of fascines and materials
of every kind which the assailants are constantly en-
gaged in flinging before them, through an opening in
front of the cat; a wooden boardiug which is fixed as
the cat advances allows of its being moved along without
any risk of its sticking fast in the mud. This engine is
propelled either by rollers in the inside worked by levers,
or by cords and fixed pulleys, B. In addition to the
shed which is placed in front of the cat, palisades and
moveable mantelets protect the labourers. The cat is
covered with raw hides, in order to preserve it from the
inflammable materials which may be launched by the
besieged. The assailants, before sending the cat forward
against the curtain-wall for the purpose of undermining
THE LINES OP APPROACH.
Fig. 20
63
A. The Cat. B. The Pulley. c. The Catapult.
D. The Cro3sbow-men. E. The Wooden Tower and Drawbridge.
64 ENGINES FOR ATTACK AND DEFENCE.
its base, have destroyed the hoards of this curtain-wall
by means of projectiles, thrown by their slinging ma-
chines. Further on, at C, is a great catapult; it is
directed against the hoards of the second curtain. This
engine is ready strung ; a man places the sling with its
stone in position. A lofty palisade protects the engine.
Close by are crossbow-men behind rolling mantelets, who
take aim at any of the besiegers who leave their cover.
Beyond these, at E, is a turret furnished with its move-
able bridge, covered with hides : it advances upon a pre-
pared floor, the boards of which are laid down accord-
ing as the assailants, protected by palisades, fill up the
moat; it is moved, like the cat, by ropes and fixed
pulleys. Still further is a battery of two catapults, which
are hurling barrels filled with incendiary material against
the hoards of the curtain-walls. Within the town, upon
a great square tower terminating in a platform at the
summit, the besieged have fixed a catapult which is
directed against the turret of the assailants. Behind
the walls another catapult, covered by the curtains, hurls
projectiles against the engines of the assailants. So long
as the machines of the enemy have not arrived at the
foot of the walls, the part played by the besieged is
almost passive ; they content themselves with launching
through the loop-holes of their hoards as many arrows
and bolts as they can. If they are bold and numerous,
they may attempt in the night to fire the turret, the
palisades, and machines, by issuing from some postern
at a distance from the point of attack ; but if timid or
demoralised, if they have no bold and devoted band
amongst their ranks, at day-break their moat will be
filled, the floor of planks slightly inclined towards the
walls will allow the turret to advance rapidly by its own
weight, and the assailants will have but to maintain it
in its place. Upon the fragments of the hoards crushed
Fii. 21
ATTACK BY THE DEAM'BKIDGE FROM THE CAT. 65
66
USE 01' BASTIONS.
^o
by the stones hurled from the catapults, the moveable
bridge of the turret will suddenly descend, and a nume-
rous troop of knights and picked soldiers will precipitate
themselves upon the parapet- way of the curtain (fig. 21).
But this catastrophe is fore-
seen: if the garrison be
faithful, abandoning the
taken curtain, they will
shut themselves up in the
towers which are placed at
intervals along it (fig. 22 ') ;
there they can rally, enfilade
the parapet-walk and cover
it with projectiles, and,
through the two gates, A
and B, make a sudden sortie
while the assailants are en-
deavouring to descend into
the city ; and before they have
become too numerous, drive
them back, seize upon the
turret, and set it on fire. If
the garrison, driven back, are
/■rs/jio sc incapable of so bold a stroke,
Fii. s2. Plan of one Ba7 of the Curtain- thev barricado themselvcs in
wall, and two £aetiona or Towers, **
Carcassonne. .j-j^g towors, aud the assall-
A&B. Doors from the Bastions to the Alure .n i i •
over the Wall. auts wiU havc to bcsiege
each of them in turn ; for, where need is, every tower can
be turned into a small independent fort, and many of them
are provided with wells, ovens, and cellarage for storing
" The example here given is talien from the interior enceinte of the city of Car-
oassonnej in that part built by Philip the Bold. The plan of the towers is taken
at the level of the curtain j and is that of those known as the Dar£ja and Saint
Laurence towers, south side.
DEFENSIVE ARRANGEMENTS.
67
and cooking provisions. The gateways by which, the
towers communicate with the parapet-walk are narrow,
iron-plated, closed on the inside, and strengthened by
wooden bars let into the thickness of the wall, in such a
way that in a moment the door
can be drawn to and rapidly
barricaded by inserting the
wooden bar.
We are struck, when we study
the system of defence adopted
from the twelfth to the six-
teenth century, with the care
taken to guard against surprise ;
all kinds of precautions are taken
to arrest the progress of the
enemy and to embarrass him at j t.wrX
every step by complicated ar- m^ 23. woodenDooTofaBaBtion.
rangements in the plan, and by turns and checks which
it was impossible he could foresee. It is evident that a
siege, before the invention of cannon, was never really
serious, either for the besieged or the assailants, except
when it became a hand-to-hand contest. A veteran
garrison could still struggle on, and with some chance
of success, until driven to their last defences. The
enemy might enter the town by an escalade, or by a
breach, without the garrisons being on that account
forced to surrender; when this occurred, shut up in
their towers, which, we repeat, were so many separate
forts, they could make a long resistance, exhaust the
strength of the enemy, and cause him heavy losses in
every partial attack; for many a well-barricaded door-
way had to be broken in, and many a stout conflict to
be sustained, hand-to-hand, within spaces circumscribed
and encumbered. Should the ground-floor of a tower
e2
68 DETAILS OP DEFENCE.
happen to be taken, the upper stories had still powerful
means of defence. We see that everything was calcu-
lated beforehand for disputing the ground foot by foot.
The spiral staircases which gave access to the various
stories of the towers were easily and promptly barri-
caded, in such a way as to render hopeless all efforts of
the assailants to ascend from one story to another. Even
if it happened that the burghers of a city wished to
capitulate, the garrison might still hold out against
them, and debar them from all access to the towers and
curtains. It was a system of universal suspicion.
It is in all these details of foot-by-foot defence that
the art of fortification, as pursued from the eleventh to
the sixteenth century, appears in its best aspect. It is
by carefully examining every trace that remains of the
defensive obstacles of these times that we are enabled
to understand those narratives of gigantic attacks, which
we are too frequently disposed to tax with exaggeration.
"Whilst attentively considering these means of defence,
so ably thought over and combined beforehand, we can
easily figure to ourselves the immense labours of the
besiegers, their moveable turrets, their contravallations,
their boulevards, their bastilles, and all the various
means of attack which were brought into play against a
beleaguered enemy, who himself had calculated every
chance of assault, who frequently acted on the offensive,
and who was never disposed to yield a foot of ground,
unless he could retire to another position stronger than
the one he quitted.
At the present day, thanks to our artillery, a general
who invests a fortified place which is not supported by
an army in the field, can foretel the day and the hour
when that place will fall. He can tell beforehand the
moment when his breach will be practicable, or when
MEANS OF DEFENCE. 69
his columns of attack will enter a given work. It is a
game which takes more or less time in the playing, but
which the besieging party are always certain to win, if
there be no lack of ammunition, if they have an army at
their disposal proportioned to the force of the garrison,
and skilful engineers. "Place attaquee, place prise" (a
place attacked is a place taken), says the French proverb"^.
But at that time nobody could tell when or how a forti-
fied place would fall into the hands of the besiegers, how
numerous soever they might be. "With a determined
garrison and plenty of provisions, a siege might be pro-
longed indefinitely : nor was it rare to see a bicoque re-
sisting during many months a numerous and veteran
army. Hence arose, frequently, that boldness and inso-
lence of the weak towards the powerful; that habit of
individual resistance which constitutes the ground- work
of the character of feudalism ; that energy which gave
birth to such mighty things in the midst of so many
abuses, which enabled the French and Anglo-Norman
peoples to recover themselves after terrible reverses, and
to found enduring nationalities ; and by means of which
they ever discovered unknown resources when their for-
tunes seemed at the lowest ebb.
' Like many others, this proverh is not altogether true, however, and many
examples occur to gainsay its accuracy. It is certain that, even at the present day,
a place defended by a commander of ingenuity and skill, one whose coup-d'ceil is
rapid and accurate, may hold out much longer than one which is defended by a
man of routine whose intelligence cannot fnrnish fresh resources at every phase of
the attack. It may be found, perhaps, that since siege warfare has become a
science, and a kind of formula, as it were, we have been led to make too light of all
those resources of detail which were still in use down to the sixteenth century.
We cannot doubt but that the study of archseology, which has had so great an
influence over the other branches of architecture, will exert its action upon
military architecture likewise ; for in our opinion (and it is one shared by compe-
tent authorities), although there may be nothing in the/oj-m of the fortification of
the middle ages of which use might be made at the present day, owing to the
powerful agency of artillery, the same is not true of its spirit, or of its principles.
70 SPIRIT OF FEUDALISM.
Nothing is better adapted to bring into strong relief
the profound differences whicli separate the cbaracters of
tbe men of those remote ages from the spirit of our own
time, than to institute a comparison between a fortified
city or castle of the thirteenth or fourteenth century and
a modern fortress. In this latter there is nothing to
strike the eye, everything wears an uniform appearance,
and one bastion so closely resembles another that it is
hard to recognise any one individually. An army ad-
vances against a city and takes it, yet the besiegers have
scarcely seen the besieged; for weeks and weeks they
have seen nothing before them save some heaps of earth
and a little smoke. The breach is made and the place
capitulates; everything falls the same day; a piece of
wall has been thrown down, a little earth dislodged, and
the city, the bastions, which have not seen even the
smoke of the guns, magazines, arsenals, everything is
given up. Humanity, considered in its material aspect,
is a gainer; for the immediate disasters, the fury and
the excesses which follow in the wake of a successful
assault, are avoided : but the sentiment of responsibility
and of individual resistance is lost, the energy of national
character is enfeebled. Some hundreds of years ago
things were differently managed. If a garrison were
faithful, and good soldiers, it was necessary, so to speak,
to force every tower to capitulate, to treat with every
captain who was minded to defend, foot by foot, the post
which had been confided to him. Everything, at least,
was arranged with a view to this result. People accus-
tomed themselves to rely only on their own powers and
that of those about them, and they defended themselves
against all comers. In this way (for we may deduce the
greater from the less) it was not in those days enough
to take the capital of a country for the country to be
SPIRIT OP FEUDALISM.
71
yours. Times of barbarism they may have been, but it
was a barbarism full of energy and resources. The study
of these great military monuments of the middle ages is,
therefore, not curious only, it gives us an insight into
habits of thought and action to which our national cha-
racter might do well to return.
We behold at the beginning of the thirteenth century
the^ inhabitants of Toulouse, with some great lords and
their knights, in a badly enclosed city holding in check
the army of the powerful Count de Montfort, and forcing
him to raise the siege. But it was not the cities alone
which thus acted; the great vassals, shut up in their
castles, were at all times ready to resist, not only their
rivals, but even their suzerain and his armies.
" The distinctive, the general character of feudalism," says
M. Guizot, " is the dismemberment of the people and power into
a multitude of little peoples and small sovereigns ; the absence
of any general nation, or any central government Under
what enemies did feudalism fall? Who struggled against it
in France? Two forces: royalty on the one hand, the com-
munes on the other. By means of royalty a central govern-
ment came to be established in France; by the commimes a
general nation was formed, which in time grouped itself round
the central government '."
The development of the feudal system is, therefore,
limited to the period between the tenth and fourteenth
centuries. It was then that feudalism erected its most
important fortresses ; that it completed, during the
struggles of baron against baron, the military education
of the nations of the West.
" With the fourteenth century," adds the illustrious historian,
" wars change their character. Then begins the series of foreign
wars ; no longer wars of vassal against suzeraia or of vassal
' Hist, of Civilization in France, by M. Guizot, 2ud part, 1st lesson.
72 THE FEUDAL CASTLE.
against vassal, but of one people ■with another, of sovereign
against sovereign. At the accession of Philip de Valois, the great
wars of the French against the English break out ; the claims
of the kings of England, not upon this or that fief, but upon
the country and the throne of Prance, are put forward; and
these wars last until the time of Louis XI. It is therefore no
longer feudal wars which are in question, but national wars ; a
certain proof that the feudal epoch stops at these limits, and
that another social state has already begun."
But witliOTit feudalism, witliout the trials to -wHcli the
nation had been subjected under its sway, and which
were imposed by its very nature, could France have
struggled during more than a century with her enemies
from the other side of the channel, have waged battle
at one and the same time against both foreign and
domestic enemies, have preserved her national character,
and been as strongly constituted the day after as the
day before the contest? However barbarous and op-
pressive the feudal system may now appear, we consider
it entitled to this tribute. To it we owe our best activity
and strength ; and the very men who, at the close of the
last century, overthrew its last vestiges, would not have
found in the country the energy which is its traditional
characteristic, had the nation not been brought up in
this hard school. It may be as well to bear this in
mind.
The feudal castle is invested with its true defensive
character only when it is isolated, at a distance from
great, wealthy, and populous cities, and when it over-
awes some little town, village, or hamlet. It then
takes every advantage of the configuration of the country,
and surrounds itself with precipices, moats, and water-
courses. When it forms a part of the city, it becomes
its citadel, and is obliged to keep its defences subordinate
to those of the city walls, to place itself at some point
PARIS AND THE LOUVRE. 73
from ■wMcli it can remain master of the parts beyond its
■walls and within them. In order to convey our meaning
in a few words, we may say, that the true feudal castle,
viewed with reference to the art of fortification, is that
which, having itself fixed upon its site, sees by degrees
the habitations of the people gradually come and group
themselves around it. Far other is the castle whose con-
struction, being of later date than that of the town, has
found itself obliged to make its site and arrangements de-
pendent upon the situation and the defensive arrange-
ments of the city. At Paris, the louvre of Philip- Augustus
was evidently constructed in accordance with the latter
conditions. Until the reign of that prince, the kings of
France inhabited ordinarily the palace which was situate
in the city. But when the city of Paris had assumed a
considerable development on both banks of the river,
this central residence could no longer be a suitable one
for the sovereign, whUst as a defence it had become
quite useless. Philip- Augustus, in building the louvre,
planted a citadel at the point of the city where he had
most to fear from attack, and where his formidable rival,
Eichard, was most likely to present himself; he kept
guard over both banks of the Seine above the city, and
commanded the marshes and the fields which, from this
point, at that time extended to the slopes of Chaillot and
as far as Meudon. When he enclosed the town by walls,
he took care to leave his new castle, his citadel, outside
of their limits, in order thereby to preserve its liberty of
defence. We see in the plan of Paris (fig. 24), as we
have already observed, that besides the louvre. A, other
fortified establishments are scattered around the walls ;
H is the Chateau du Bois, surrounded by gardens, a
pleasure residence of the king's. At L is the hotel of
the dukes of Brittany. At the palace of King Robert,
74
PLAN OF PARIS, THIRTEENTH CENTURY.
and the monastery of Saint Martin-of-the-Fields, sur-
rounded by a fortified enceinte. At B the temple, form-
ing a separate citadel, with its walls and keep. At G
Fi^.S4. Plan of Paris in the Thirteenth. Century.
A. The Louvre.
B. The Temple.
C. Palace of King Robert.
D. The Law Courts.
E. Notre Dame.
F. Saint Genevieve.
G. Hotel de Vauvert,
H. Chateau du Bois.
1. House of S. Lazare.
K. The Infirmary.
L. Palace of the Duke of
Brittany.
M & N. The Markets.
O. The Grand-Chatelet.
P. The Petit-Chatelet.
the Hotel de Yauvert, built by King Eobert, likewise
surrounded by an enceinte '.
' At I was the house of Saint-Lazare j at K the infirmary ; at M and N the
markets; at O the grand-chatelet, which guarded the entrance to the city from
the north, and at P the petit-chdtelet, which defended the Petit-Pont, on the
south; at E N<5tre Dame and the bishop's palace; at D the ancient courts of law;
at P Sainte-Genevifeve and the palace of Clovis, on the mountain. — {Descript, de
Fans, par N. de FerS, 1724.)
PLAN OF PARIS, FOURTEENTH CENTURY,
IS
At a later period, during the imprisonment of King
John, it was found necessary to extend the city walls. The
city growing larger and larger, especially on the side of the
right bank (fig. 25), the Louvre and the Temple became
Fi|. 35. Plan of Paris in the Fourteenth Century.
A to P. The same as in the Thirteenth Century, (see opposite) . R. Palais des TourncUes.
S. Bastille of S. Antoine.
enclosed within the new walls ; but gates of good defence,
and provided with barbicans, served the purpose of de-
tached forts, and on the eastern side Charles V. had the
bastille of Saint Antoine, S, erected, which commanded
the faubourgs, and served as a support to the enceinte.
The Palais des Tournelles, E, gave further strength to
this portion of the city ; and moreover, the Temple and the
76
PLAN OF COTJCY.
Louvre, which, preserved their fortified walls of enclosure,
formed, in conjunction with the Bastille, so many internal
citadels. We have already mentioned that the system
of fortification adopted in the middle ages was not
adapted to extended lines of defence ; its force became
impaired when the circumference of these became too
great, unless they were accompanied by those advanced
fortresses which divided the forces of the besiegers and
impeded the advance of an enemy. "We have seen in
the case of Carcassonne (fig. 16) a town of small di-
mensions well defended by art and by the nature of the
ground; but the castle there forms a portion of the city,
is no more than its citadel, and has none of the charac-
teristics of a feudal castle ; while at Coucy, for example
(flg.26), although the castle
is annexed to the town, it
is completely independent
of it, and preserves its cha-
racter of a feudal castle.
Here the town, built at C,
is surrounded by an enceinte
of considerable strength ;
between it and the castle,
B, lies an esplanade or kind
of place d^armes, A, com-
municating with the town
only by the gate, E, with
defences on both sides, but
more especially against the
town. The castle, built on
FiJ. 26. Castle of Coucy.
A. Place d'Armcs. B. The Castle.
C. The Town. D. The Moat.
E. The Gate from the To-wn to the Castle.
the crest of the hill, looks down over very steep escarp-
ments and is separated from the place d'armes by a large
moat, D. If the town were taken, the place d'armes, and,
behind it, the castle, served as secure places of refuge
PLANS OP TOWNS. 77
for the garrison. It was in the space, A, that the
stables, household offices, and barracks of the garrison
were placed, so long as they were not obliged to retire
within the lines of the castle ; sally-ports in the curtain
of the place d'armes allowed of their making sorties, or
of receiving assistance from without if the enemy held
the city and was not in force sufficient to invest it and
blockade the castle. Several towns offered dispositions
of defence analogous to those here described: — Guise,
Chateau-Thierry, Chatillon-sur-Seine, Falaise, Meulan,
Dieppe, Saumur, Bourbon-l'Archambaut, Montfort-
I'Amaury, Montargis, Boussac, Orange, Hyeres, Loches,
Chauvigny in Poitou, &c. In this latter city, three
castles commanded the town at the close of the four-
teenth century, all three built upon a neighbouring hill,
and all three independent of each other. Those cities
in which the defences were thus divided were considered,
and justly, as of great strength ; frequently hostile ar-
mies, after having taken possession of the town forti-
fications, were obliged to relinquish attempting to lay
siege to the castle; and following up their conquests
in other directions, left garrisons behind them intact,
who, when their backs were turned, retook the town
and fell upon their rear. Had feudalism been only
united, it is certain that no system was so well cal-
culated to arrest the progress of an invasion as this
subdivision of the defence; and herein lies the expla-
nation of the incredible facility with which provincial
conquests were then lost ; for it was not possible at that
time, as it is now, to secure the results of a campaign by
the centralisation of the military power and by an abso-
lute discipline. If the conquered country was divided
into a number of lordships or baronies, which defended
themselves each on its own account, much more than to
78 ANGLO-NOEMAN FEUDALISM,
keep the oath, of fealty sworn to the suzerain ; so the
armies were composed of vassals, who were bound to
give forty, or sixty, days' service, as the case might be,
in the field, and no more; after which term every one
might return to his home ; and this must be, so long as
the suzerain could not have his soldiery on hire. In
this respect, from the date of the close of the thirteenth
century, the English monarchy had acquired a great
superiority over that of the French. The Anglo-Norman
feudalism formed a better consolidated mass than the
feudalism of Erance; it had proved this by forcing a
reluctant king to grant them their Magna Charta ; and
as a consequence of this agreement, they were more
intimately bound to their suzerain. Their form of go-
vernment, comparatively liberal, had led the English
aristocracy to introduce into their armies troops of foot-
soldiers taken from the towns, who were already well
disciplined, skilled in the use of the bow, and who
decided the fate of the day in nearly all the disastrous ^
battles of the fourteenth century, Crecy, Poitiers, &c.
The same feeling of distrust which made the French
feudal lord isolate his castle from the town placed under
his protection, would not allow him to give arms into the
hands of the burghers, or to familiarize them with mili-
tary exercises ; he put his trust in his own men, in the
goodness of his horse and of his coat of mail, and, more
than all, in his own personal courage ; and held in dis-
dain the foot-soldier (fantassin) whom he brought into
the field only to swell his numbers, not reckoning him
of any account at the moment of action. This feeling,
which was so fatal to France at the period of her wars
with England, and to which may be attributed the loss of
many a pitched battle in the course of the fourteenth
6 Disastrous, that is to say, /or the French. — Tbanslatob.
PEUDAL CASTLES OF FEANCE, 79
century, in spite of the incontestable superiority of the
feudal horsemen (^gendarmerie) of that country, was essen-
tially favourable to the development of military architec-
ture ; and, in point of fact, there is no country of "Western
Europe where one meets with more numerous, more com-
plete, or finer feudal fortifications, of the date of the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, than in Prance ^. It
is in the feudal castles, above all other places, that we
must study the military dispositions of those times : for
in these they are developed with a profusion of precau-
tions and an abundance of means alike extraordinary.
We have already alluded to the distinction to be
drawn between these castles serving as refuges, or as
citadels to the garrisons of towns, and the isolated castles
which commanded some village, hamlet, or small open
town, with which they were only connected by inter-
mediate works. These latter castles were of several
kinds : there was the simple keep or donjon, surrounded
by a fortified wall, with quarters for soldiers attached;
and there was the castle, which occupied a vast space,
closed in by strong walls, and containing detached forts
'' The number of castles which covered the soil of France, more especially on the
frontiers of provinces, is incalculable. There was not a village, hovrgade, or small
town, which did not possess at least one, without reckoning the isolated castles,
military posts, and towers which at short intervals dotted the courses of rivers, the
valleys which were used as passes, and the ma/rches. From the earliest period of
the feudal organization, the seigneurs, the cities, the bishops, and the abbots had to
recur on many an occasion to the sovereign authority of the kings of France in
order to prohibit the erection of new castles which might be likely to prejudice
their interests and " those of the country." (Les Olim.) On the other hand, the
king of France, in spite of the resistance of his vassals, authorized by act of par-
liament the erection of fortresses, in order thereby to lessen the power of his great
vassals. "Ctim abbas et conventus Daloneusis associassent dominum regem ad
quemdam locum qui dicitur Tauriacus, pro quadam bastlda ibidem construenda, et
dominus Garnerius de Castro-Novo, miles, et vicecomes Turenue se opponerent, et
dicerunt dictam bastidam absque eorum prejudicio non posse fieri. Auditis eorum
contradicionibus et racionibus, pronunciatum fuit quod dicta bastida ibidem fleret
et remaueret." (Les Olim, edit, of the Ministry of Public Instruction, Philip III.,
1279, vol. ii. p. 147.)
8o RICHARD CCEUR-DE-LION.
and one or more donjons. Placed on the high-road, or
on the bank of some river, castles of this importance
could intercept all communications ; they formed so
many strong places, vast in dimension and of great im-
portance, considered from a military point of view; re-
quiring for their blockade a numerous army, for their
subjection a considerable siege train and much time.
The Chateau-Gaillard, in the Andelys, was of this num-
ber. Built by Eichard Coeur-de-Lion, after this prince
had discovered the error he had committed in leaving to
Philip Augustus, by the treaty of Issoudun, the Vexin
territory and the town of Gisors, this castle still pre-
serves, in spite of the state of ruin into which it has
fallen, the impress of the military genius of the great
Anglo-Norman king. Eichard, although a bad politician,
was a consummate warrior ; and it was characteristic of
his nature to repair his shortcomings as a statesman by
dint of courage and perseverance. In our opinion, the
Chateau-Gaillard des Andelys reveals one portion of the
talents of Eichard. There is too general a disposition to
believe that this illustrious prince was nothing more than
a fighter, brave to rashness ; but it is not merely by pos-
sessing the qualities of a good soldier, however fearless
or intrepid, that a monarch acquires so large a place in
history. To the men of his time, Eichard was a hero
whose valour shone conspicuous in a valiant age ; but he
was also an able captain, an engineer full of resources,
experienced ; a master in the practice of his art, capable
of things in advance of his age, and who never allowed
himself to be the slave of routine. Thanks to the excel-
lent work of M. A. Deville on the Chateau-Gaillard',
everybody can form an exact estimate of the circum-
Sist. du Chateau- Qaillard et du siege qu'il soutint contre Philippe- Aiiguste, en
1203 et 1204 (Hist, of the Chateau-Gaillard and of tlie siege it sustained against
Philip Augustus in 1203 and 1204), by A. DevUle, Rouen, 1849.
THE CHATEAU-GAILLAED. 8 1
stances which regulated the construction of this fortress,
the key of Normandy, and a frontier place capable of
arresting the invasions of the French king for a con-
siderable space of time. The right bank of the Seine
being then in the possession of Philip Augustus as far
as the Andelys, a French army could in a single day be
conveyed into the very heart of Normandy and menace
Eouen. Aware too late of this danger, Eichard was
anxious to place his continental province beyond its
reach. With the sure coup d'oeil which belongs to men
of genius, he chose the site of the fortress intended to
cover the Norman capital, and having once decided upon
his plans, he followed out their execution with a tenacity
and force of will which bore down every obstacle opposed
to his undertaking ; so that, in one year, not only was
the fortress built, but a complete system, likewise, of
defensive works was thrown up, with rare talent, along
the banks of the Seine, to the point at which that river
covers Eouen. It is rare to find at this period the breadth
of view in military dispositions which marks the great
soldier ; and here it is not merely the isolated defence of
a detached post that is in question, but that of the fron-
tiers of a great province. From Bonnieres to GaUlon,
the Seine flows almost in a straight line towards the
north-north-west. Near to Gaillon, it makes a sudden
bend towards the north-east, as far as Les Andelys;
then turns back upon itself and forms a peninsula which,
at its neck, is no more than two thousand six hun-
dred metres (about If miles) across. The French, by the
treaty which followed the conference at Issoudun, pos-
sessed, on the left bank, Vernon, Gaillon, Pacy-sur-Eure ;
and on the right, Gisors, which was one of the strong-
holds of this part of France. An army composed of
corps collected at Evreux, Vernon, and Gisors, and
G
Fig- 87. Plan of the Cliateau-Gaillard and its Environs. (See opposite.)
THE CHATEAU-GAILLAKD. 83
thence simultaneously marched upon Rouen, while a
flotilla followed in their rear, would be able in two
days to invest the place, and have everything they
required brought down by the river. By placing a for-
tress so as to span the river between these two places,
Vernon and Gisors, and in such a way as to command the
navigation, he prevented the junction of the two corps
of invasion, rendered their communication with Paris im-
possible, and placed them in the awkward predicament
of being separately defeated under the walls of Eouen.
The position, therefore, was perfectly well chosen. The
peninsula which was situate opposite Les Andelys, easily
defended across the neck, supported by a fortified place
of great strength on the other side of the river, offered
every facility for the establishment of a camp which it
would be vain to think of forcing. The city of Eouen
was covered; nor could the French armies advance
against this place without feeling very serious appre-
hensions respecting the military position they were plac-
ing between themselves and France, This short descrip-
tion will serve to shew that Eichard was something
more and better than a captain full of headlong courage.
The manner in which the Anglo-Norman king arranged
the plan of his defences, for this strategical position, was
as follows, (fig. 27). At the extremity of the peninsula,
A, on the side of the right bank, the Seine fiows round
steep sloping cliffs of great height, which overlook the
whole peninsula. On the little island, B, which stands
in the centre of the river, Eichard erected, firstly, a
strong octagonal work with towers, ditches, and palisades
A. Head of the Peninsula. D. The Lake. K, L. Rampart of Cireum-
B. A small Island. E. The Grand-Andely. Tallation.
C. The T6te-du-pont, or Petit- P. The Stockade. R. The Plateau.
Andely. H. The Port, or Boutavant.
g2
84 THE CHATEAU-GAILLAED.
complete ^ ; a wooden bridge passing throngli this fort-
alice connected the two banks. At the extremity of
this bridge, at C, upon the right bank, he built an
enceinte, or wide tete-du-pont^ which was soon filled with
habitations, and took the name of Petit- Andely. A lake
formed by the retention of the waters of the two streams,
at D, completely isolated this tete-du-pont. The Grand-
Andely, E, was likewise fortified and surrounded by
ditches, which still exist. Upon a promontory of chalk
cliff, which rises to a height of more than a hundred
yards above the level of the Seine, was planted the
principal fortress, advantage being taken of every pro-
jection of the rock : towards the south, a tongue of land
of no more than a few yards in width served to link this
promontory to the surrounding hills. At the base of the
escarpment, and enfiladed by the castle, a stockade, F,
composed of three rows of piles, was placed across the
course of the Seine. This stockade was further protected
by palisadoed works erected along the side of the right
bank, and by a wall descending from a tower, built half-
way up the hill : in addition, a fort was built, at H, on
the banks of the Seine, and took the name of Boutavant.
The peninsula being thus made secure, it was impossible
for an army to find an encampment upon ground cut up
with ravines and covered with enormous rocks. The
small valley lying between the two Andelys, filled by
the waters of the stream and commanded by the fortifi-
cations of the two lourgs, could not be occupied. The
single attackable point of the fortress was the tongue of
land which connected it with the hills on the south. We
will now describe how Eichard, who himself presided
over the erection of this fortress, and never left the
1 The lower portions of this work are still in existence.
THE CHATEAU-GAILIiARD.
85
fCGAPD.SJ.
Fig 28. Ground-plan of the Chateau-G-aillard.
A. High Angle Tower. I. The Moat.
B B. Smaller Side Towers. K. Entrance Gate.
C C, D D. Corner Towers. L. The Counterscarp.
E. Outer Enceinte, or Lower M. The Keep.
Court. N. The Escarpment.
F. The Well. O. Postern Tower.
G. H. Buildings in the Lower P. Postern Gate.
Court.
BE. Parapet Walls.
S. Gate from the Escarpment.
TT. Flanking Towers.
V. Outer Tower.
X. Connecting Wall.
Y. The Stockade in the Kiyer.
ZZ. The Great Ditches.
86 THE CHATEATJ-GAILLAED.
■workmen, hastening on their labours by his personal di-
rection, established his defences, (fig. 28). At A, oppo-
site the tongue of land which united the site of the
castle with the neighbouring height, he had a deep ditch
dug in the rock and built a strong and lofty tower, the
parapets of which attained to the level of the topmost
plateau, and commanded the summit of the hill. This
tower was flanked by two others at B B ; the curtain-
walls, A D, spread out from A and followed the natural
slope of the rock ; the tower, A, commanded the whole
advanced work, ADD. A second ditch, also excavated
in the rock, separates this out-work from the body of
the place. The two towers, C 0, commanded probably
the towers D D ''. The first (or outer) enceinte of the
castle, E, contained the stables, domestic offices, and the
chapel ; this formed the lower court A well existed at
F ; within and beneath the area of the court, vast cellars
were excavated, supported on piers of solid rock, which
received their light from the castle-moat, I, and commu-
nicated, by means of two tunnels bored in the rock, with
the outside. At K is the entrance-gate of the castle,
the sill of which is raised more than two yards above the
counterscarp of the moat, L. In Eichard's days, works
erected upon a rock which had been left jutting from the
ditch, covered this entrance; a portcullis, overhanging
sheds and two small side works, or posts, defended the
gate, which was further commanded by the defences of
the donjon, M. Soldiers' quarters were arranged on the
side of the escarpment, at N, and a strong defence, 0,
flanked the postern, P, which opened on the parapet-
walk, E. It is probable that the gate of the first en-
^ These four towers are now levelled ; the plan only can be distinguished, and
a few fragments which are still standing.
THE CHATEAU-GAILLAED. 87
ceinte opened at S, above the escarpments '. On the side
of the river, at T, were towers and flank-works stepped
along the cliff, in which they were cut, and famished
with parapets: a tower, V, planted against the cliff,
and communicating with the body of the place by stairs
and galleries excavated in the rocks, was connected with
the wall, X, which acted as a barrier across the foot of
the escarpment and the river banks, and likewise with
the stockade of piles intended to intercept the navigation.
The great ditches, Z, descend to the river-side; these
were cut in the rock by manual labour. One year had
sufficed for Richard to finish all these enormous works
and the whole system of defences which was attached
to them". "Is she not fair, my daughter of a year?"
exclaimed the monarch, when he beheld his great under-
taking finished". At the close of the twelfth century
the Norman fortifications had nothing in common with
the forms adopted in the construction of the Chateau-
Gaillard ; we may therefore safely conclude that Richard
was alone the author of them, and that he had himself
planned and marked out certain arrangements of defence
which denote a profound experience in the military art.
Had Richard brought back from the East acquirements
so far in advance of his age ? It is hard to say. Were
they the last remains of Roman tradition " ? Or rather,
had this prince, as the result of practical observation,
' We have left, in line merely, the defences of which only the faintest traces at
present remain.
"■ 1196-1197.
" " Ecce quam pulchra filia unius anni !" Brompton, Hist. Angl. Soriptore^
Antigui, col. 1276.
" Jean de Marmoutier, a monkish chronicler of the twelfth century, relates that
Geoffrey Plantagenet, the grandfather of Richard Coeur-de-Jiion, when besieging a
certain fortress, used to study the Treatise of Vegetius. {Sist. du Ch&teau-Qaillard,
by A. Deville.)
88
THE CHATEAtl-GAILLAED.
found in his own genius the ideas of which he then made
so remarkable an application ?
If we cast our eyes on the plan(flg. 28), we must be struck
by the curious configuration of the elliptical enceinte of the
internal castle ; it consists of a succession of segments of
a circle, the chords measuring about three yards, which
are separated from each other by portions of the curtain-
wall only a yard in length. In plan, each of these seg-
ments gives the following figure (fig. 29), which forms a
'^.
ch.EMlN-tlE fVOWDE
Fit 29. Chateau-Gaillaxd— Plan of Segments.
continuous series of flank-works of great strength com-
pared with the ofi'ensive engines of that period, as is
shewn by the dotted lines. In elevation this wall, whose
base rests upon the hewn rock, presents a formidable
appearance (fig. 30). There is no opening of any kind
in the lower portion, the whole of the defences being
arranged at the summit ^. The donjon is no less interest-
ing as a study : it consists (fig. 31) of a series of re-
versed pyramids, with their bases round the summit,
attached to the fianks of the tower. These pyramids
must have had, springing from their reversed bases.
P The walls have now fallen to the level of the point : it is probable that
hoards or brattishes were attached to the anterior portion of the segments in time
of siege, as we have shewn at B. But this is mere conjecture.
THE CHATEAU- GAILLAED.
89
"Fig. 30. Chateaa-Gailiard— View ol pjrt of the Wall- O. (See opposite.)
90 THE CHATEATJ-GAILLAED.
arches to form a machicolation i for close defence, and
have supported an embattled parapet for distant defence.
Dying away upon the lower splay of the tower-wall,
pyramids so placed offered projections very judiciously
combined for commanding the base of the donjon, while
at the same time they consolidated the whole work.
On the side of the castle this donjon presented a pro-
jecting angle (see the plan, fig. 28), which increased the
resisting force of the masonry at the sole point where it
was possible to have sapped it.
In all these works no sculpture is to be seen, or
mouldings of any kind ; everything has been sacrificed
to the defence : the masonry is good, and composed of a
rubble of sUex bedded in excellent mortar and revetted •
(or faced) with carefully executed face-work in small
courses, here and there having alternate courses of red
and white stone.
During the life-time of Eichard, Philip Augustus, not-
withstanding his well-earned reputation as a taker of
fortresses, dared not venture to lay siege to Chateau-
Gaillard; but after the death of this prince, and when
Normandy had fallen into the hands of John Lack -land,
the French king resolved to seize on this military position,
the possession of which would open the gates of Eouen.
The siege of this place, described to its smallest details
by the king's chaplain, William the Breton, an eye-
witness, was one of the greatest feats of arms of this
prince's reign ; and if Eichard displayed a talent every-
way remarkable in the strategetical arrangements of the
place and its dependencies, Philip Augustus carried out
his enterprise like a consummate master in the art of war.
1 These crowning members no longer exist: the structure is level with the point
0. The view we give is taken from the side of the postern of the donjon, on
the north, which is placed on the first floor. Wo have supposed the building, N,
as removed, in order to allow the staircase which lud to this postern to be seen.
KEEP OF THE CHATEAU-GAILLARD.
Kg- 31.
91
H,
92 SIEGE OF THE CHATEAU-GAILLAED.
Chateau-Gaillard was defended by Eoger de Lacy,
constable of Chester ; and witb him a great number of
knights of renown were enclosed in the fortress^ The
French army invested^ the peninsula of Bernieres (see
fig. 27), resting their left on this village, their right at
Toeni. The wooden bridge, which connected the small
peninsula with the fortalice situate on the Isle of An-
dely, was immediately destroyed by the Anglo-Normans.
Philip Augustus caused, first of all (and it was well
for him he did so), a ditch to be excavated from one
village to the other, and erected a rampart of circum-
vallation, K L. In order to be able to bring up the
necessary boats to form a bridge opposite the Lesser
Andely for passing to the right bank of the river, he
had the stockade cut by some bold swimmers, who
effected a breach in it whilst a false attack was being
made on the fortalice (chatelet). This breach once
effected, —
" The king," says William the Breton, " had conveyed from
divers ports on the Seine a great quantity of those flat boats
which serve habitually for the passing over of men, beasts of
burden, and carts (called bacs), and fastening these together,
side by side from one bank to the other, he laid upon them a
good floor of planks. The boats which carried these planks
were fastened to strong piles driven down here and there in the
bed of the river, and were armed with turrets at certain in-
tervals. Four larger boats, M, were attached to the central por-
tion of the bridge, which bridge rested upon the lower point of
the Isle of Andely ; and upon these boats two great turrets,
sheathed with iron, were erected for the purpose of battering
the fortalice."
This being done, the French army passed over to the
right bank and encamped at Y, under the walls of the
Lesser Andely. Meanwhile, John attempted to relieve
the place : to this end he despatched an army intended to
SIEGE OF THE CHATEA.U-GAILLAED. 93
be thrown, during the night, upon the rear of the French
at the neck of the peninsula, whilst a flotilla starting
from Eouen was at the same time to attack the bridge
of boats; but the two attacks were not made simul-
taneously ; the line of circumvallation arrested the attack
by land, and gave the French camp time for preparation,
whilst the flotilla, which arrived too late on the scene
of action, was driven back with considerable loss. The
fortalice was soon taken, as likewise the Lesser Andely,
and occupied by French garrisons. Philip Augustus
was then in a position to lay siege to Chateau- Gaillard ;
he pitched his camp on the plateau, E, opposite the
tongue of land which connects the castle with the moun-
tain. But winter was drawing near, and the king hoped
to take the place by famine. Invested on all sides, the
garrison retired within the triple enceinte of the fortress ;
lines of contra vallation and of circumvallation, stiU visi-
ble, were marked out and furnished with seven wooden
turrets at regular intervals. During the whole of the
winter of 1203-4 the French army remained within
the lines. In the month of February, 1204, Philip
Augustus, who then knew that the garrison were pro-
vided with provisions sufficient to last them over the
year, decided on undertaking a siege in form. Opposite
the angle tower, A (flg. 28), he had the ground of the
tongue of land, which this tower commanded, levelled,
and upon the site thus prepared he established covered
galleries {cats), and a turret which operated against the
tower ; the ditch was filled, and pioneers were attached
to the base of the tower. A, above the rocky escarpment ;
in a short time the tower fell upon its burnt shoring
timbers, the garrison abandoned the advanced work, and
the first enceinte of the castle fell into the hands of the
king by a surprise, which was effected in this wise. Five
94 SIEGE OF THE CHATEAU-GAILLAED.
French squires, whose names "William de Breton has
preserved, obtained an entrance into the building, H,
through a window but slightly raised above the moat,
and by their loud shouts, suddenly raised, made the
garrison believe that a numerous body of troops had
invaded the first enceinte ; whereupon the besieged
themselves fired the buildings of the lower court-yard
and retired into the castle. After incredible eflforts,
Philip Augustus succeeded in placing in battery, oppo-
site the gate of the castle, K, a catapult, and in attaching
his pioneers to the work which defended this gate, by
advancing a cat upon the position. In a little time the
gate was shattered and a portion of the masonry fell.
The French precipitated themselves upon the breach
with such impetuosity, that the garrison, then reduced
to one hundred and eighty men, could not force a pas-
sage to the postern of the donjon, and being surrounded,
they were obliged to lay down their arms. This hap-
pened on March 6, 1204. The first operations of the
attack on the fortalice and the passage of the Seine took
place in the preceding month of August. It is evident
that under another prince than John, Chateau-Gaillard
would have held out much longer; for the besieging
army, harassed by an enemy from without, would not
have been able to proceed so methodically and with such
united action. The journal of this siege places on evi-
dence a fact which is curious in reference to the history
of fortification. Chateau-Gaillard, in spite of its situa-
tion, in spite of the great skill displayed by Eichard in
the details of its defence, is too restricted in its dimen-
sions. Already even, for that period, the arrangements
of defence which were accumulated upon a given point,
instead of supporting each other, were mutually in-
jurious; the means of attack, as they became more
CASTLE OF MONTAEGIS.
95
energetic and powerful, called for a more extended line
of defences. "We shall see presently how, during the
thirteenth century ,> engineers simplified their fortifica-
tions and subjected them to methods of more regu-
larity and of greater breadth.
The castle of Montargis, the construction of which
dated from the thirteenth century, and a plan of which
we subjoin (fig. 32), was likewise a place of sufficient
rig. 32. Plan of the Castle of Montargis.
A & B. The Outer Gateways.
C. The Inner Gateway,
D. Another Entrance.
E. The Postern.
r. The Keep.
G. The Great Hall.
H. The Chapel.
I. The Staircase.
K. The Gallery.
LLL. The Barracks.
M. A Gateway Tower.
N. A Guard Tower.
O. The Stables and Offices.
S S S. The Moats.
strength to call for a regular siege. It commanded the
high road from Paris to Orleans which passed through
96 CASTLE OP MONTAEGIS.
the fortified gates, A and B. Moats, S S, surrounded
the external and internal defences. The road was ex-
posed to a flank fire from a front flanked by towers, and
communicated with the castle by means of a gate, C (see
fig. 61, for a bird's-eye view of this entrance) ; another
gateway, passing through a massive detached tower, was
of very difficult access. As for the internal arrange-
ments of the castle, they are of great interest, and shew
clearly the means of defence then in the hands of a gar-
rison. The towers are of great projection beyond the
line of the curtains, with a view to obtain a good flank
fire; on the north (a salient point, and weak in con-
sequence) was erected an important work composed of
two massive walls, one behind the other, connected by
other return walls, which latter were fianked by two
towers of a greater diameter than the others. At G was
the great hall, two stories high, in which the whole of
the garrison could be called together to receive orders,
and from which they could rapidly be directed simulta-
neously upon every point of the enceinte, by means of a
staircase of three flights, each in a different direction, I.
The connection between this staircase and the great
hall could be cut off, and the great hall be made to serve
for a place of retreat, if the enceinte were forced. The
massive donjon, F, several stories in height, with a cir-
cular tower in the centre, communicated with the great
hall on the level of the first story, by means of a gallery,
K, which in the same manner could be isolated at its
extremity. This donjon commanded the whole of the
enceinte and the buildings attached. The garrison was
quartered in the buildings, L, on the side where the
enceinte was most easily accessible. At were the
stables, the bakehouse, stores; at H the chapel, and at
N a poste^ or guard-house, close to the entrance, D.
THE DONJON OR KEEP.
'^l
The small buildings which surrounded the donjon were
of a date posterior to its erection. The postern, B, gave
access to extensive gardens, which were themselves sur-
rounded by a fortified wall.
The donjon was to the castle, during the feudal period,
what the castle was to the town, — its last retreat, the
last means of resistance : and we find it, therefore, con-
structed with the utmost care and furnished with every
means of defence then in use. During the Eomanesque
period, the donjon is, as a general rule, built upon a
square plan, and strengthened by buttresses of rect-
angular or semicircular form, which had the advantage
of flanking the walls by means of battlements placed at
Fij. 33. Plan of the Castle of Chauvigny
H
08 THE DONJON OR KEEP.
their summits, SucTi are the donjons of the castles of
Langeais, of Loches, of Beaugency-sur-Loire, and of
Ghauvigny (the plan of which last we append, fig. 33 '),
of Montrichard, of Domfront, of Nogent-le-Eotrou, of
Falaise, &o. Their stories were vaulted over, or sepa-
rated by timber floors resting upon a row of detached
piers; the windows which gave light to these halls
were few, and they were frequently furnished with
chimneys, an oven, and wells on the ground-floor. They
were so contrived as to be built upon the most elevated
point of the plateau on which the castle was placed, or
on mottes^ or mounds, made artificially. A wall of counter-
guard (or chemise) of some height protected their base,
and access to the interior could only be obtained by
means of a narrow postern raised several yards above the
ground-level, and by means of wooden stairs or flying
bridges communicating with the parapet of the chemise.
As early as at this period the elevation of the donjons
was considerable, being from thirty to fifty yards, in
order to command not only the exterior defences of the
castle, but even the parts outside. There exist no longer,
as far as we know, any donjons built from the tenth to
the close of the eleventh century the upper defences of
which have been preserved; and we are therefore not
able to say whether their battlements were furnished
with hoards in time of war, or whether they were
crowned with platforms or with high-pitched roofs.
However, as in the upper portions of the castle of
Carcassonne which are preserved, and which date from
the end of the eleventh or beginning of the twelfth
century, we have discovered traces perfectly visible of
' This plan gives the present state of the castle at the height of the first story.
The erection of this donjon dates from the eleventh century.
THE DONJON OE KEEP.
99
ttese timber hoards, it is highly probable that the square
towers of the west, north, and centre of France were de-
fended in a similar manner. Towards the middle of the
twelfth century the square form was abandoned, in don-
jons as well as in towers ; because the salient angles of
towers on a square plan, not being capable of a good
defence, allowed the besiegers to undermine these angles
and thus destroy the whole work. . The keep of Etampes
offers a peculiar arrangement, and one which shews the
efforts which were made in the twelfth century to make
these important defences at once feudal residences and
well-guarded works. We subjoin (fig. 34) the plan of
Fi|. 34. Plan of the Keep of Btampes.
the ground-floor of the keep ^ The keep of Provins,
called Caesar's Tower, built in the twelfth century, is
still more interesting as a study; it is a complete
polygonal (octagonal) fort, flanked by four towers en-
gaged at their base, but which detached themselves from
the body of the structure in their upper portions and
This plan is drawn to a scale of ^Jj.
h2
lOO
THE DONJON OR KEEP OF PKOVINS.
thus commanded the'ground all round. This work could
be manned by a great number of defenders, on account
of the receding plans of its several stories and of the
flanking position of the turrets. We give (fig. 35) the
Fig. 35. Ground-plan of the Keep of Provius
A B. Line of the Section, D. Passage to Tot™ Wail. H. The Chapel.
fig- 39- r. The Doorway. 1 1. The Posterns.
C. The Outer Platform. G. The Oven. P. The Masked Well.
plan of the ground-floor of this donjon ; (fig. 36) the plan
of the first story ; (fig. 37) the plan of the third story
THE DONJON OE KEEP OP PR0VIN8.
^ >
lOI
Fig. 36. Plan of the First Story of the Keep of Provins.
AB. Line of the Section, D. The Passage. RS. Line of the Elevation,
fig-. 39.
C. Outer Platform.
D. The Passage.
III. The PoDtems.
K. The Staircase.
flg. 38.
Fig. 37 Plan of Third Story.
K. Staircase.
L L L L. The Allure.
MM MM. Bartizans.
N N. Steps to Upper Platform.
102
THE DONJON OE KEEP OE PROVINS.
and of the first circulating gallery {tour-de-ronde) of de-
fence; (fig. 38) the elevation of the western side, and
(fig. 39) the section on the line AB', The platform, C
(fig. 35), which surrounds the keep of Provins dates
1-
Fi^,33. Elevation of the Keep of Provins, on the line R S on the Plans.
X X. Line of the Present Remains u. C. The Platformi added in the 15th century.
' To the same scale of 3^, full size.
" All above this line has been destroyed, and is here restored in the drawing
only, from other examples and illuminated MSS.
THE DONJON OK KEEP OF PEOVINS.
103
from tlie fifteenth century, and was erected by the Eng-
lish to receive cannon ; it took the place of a wall of
counter- guard belonging to a much more ancient date.
The wall, D, was prolonged to reach the Paris gate, and
established a communication between the platform, C, or
Fig. 39. Section of the Keep of Provina, on the line A B on the Hans.
XX. Present Level of the Bmlding.
the wall of counter-guard, and the parapets of the town
walls. Anciently, access was obtained to the hall on
I04 THE BONJON OE KEEl^ OF PROVINS.
the first story of the donjon, from the parapets of the
■wall of counter-guard, by means of four posterns, I,
(fig. 38) communicating with as many flying bridges.
It was necessary to descend from the first story to the
ground-floor, which had no communication with the out-
side; through the doorway, F (fig. 35), you arrived,
by a descending flight of steps, at the masked well, P
(see section, fig. 39). A dungeon which is traditionally
pointed out as the place of imprisonment of John the
Good, Duke of Brittany, constitutes, with the great cen-
tral hall, the ground floor : at Gr, an oven had been set
up in the fifteenth century ; a small chapel was placed at
H. The first story is composed of several small chambers,
intended for the quarters of the persons in command. By
means of the four posterns, I, I, I, I, and the draw-
bridges, the garrison easily spread themselves along the
platform or allure of the original enclosure (chemise), which
we have marked as restored in the plan (fig. 36), and so
passed out to the prolonged wall, D, communicating with
the exterior. By the small spiral stair, K, access was
obtained to the embattled parapets, L (fig. 37), and the
bartizans, M. Finally, by the steps, N, the second story
was reached, the defences of which are partially destroyed.
The ancient buildings in their present state reach no
higher than the level XX (figs. 38 and 39). There is no
doubt that the upper portion of this tower was defended
with great care, a fact which is proved by the arrange-
ment of the angle-turrets. We have attempted, in the
elevation and section which we give, to restore this upper
portion, in strict conformity with the defences which exist
of this period, and with the indications to be found in
manuscripts anterior to the thirteenth century ; which
indications, however, it must be allowed, are extremely
insufficient. The position of the timber hoards of the four
THE DONJON OR KEEP OE COUCT. 105
upper faces appear to us as placed beyond doubt, as tbere
could be no other explanation of the recess left over the
continuous gallery (fig. 39), and which appears intended
to receive the feet of the great struts of the hoards;
these hoards being of suiiicient projection to form a ma-
chicolation beyond the line of the first story parapets.
The hoards thus placed fiank the turrets, and these, in
their turn, flank the faces of the tower.
But, in the thirteenth century, they appear to have
abandoned all square or angular forms, in setting out
their donjons, in order definitively to adopt the circular
plan. About the close of the twelfth, or the beginning
of the thirteenth century, the donjon of Chateaudun,
and that of the Louvre, were erected on a circular plan.
Somewhere about the year 1220, Enguarrand III. de
Coucy erected the admirable donjon which is still in ex-
istence, "We shall close this part of our subject by
giving a detailed account of this donjon, as being the
largest, the most complete, as well as that in which the
systeQi of defence is the strongest, and, at the same time,
the most easily explained, of all those known to us.
We, have given (fig. 26) the site of the castle of Coucy,
and its position in relation to the town. From the place
d'armes, or lower court-yard, in which the domestic
offices were placed, an entrance is obtained into the
castle over a bridge, A (fig. 40), flanked by two guards
houses. This bridge could easily be cut off in time of
war, its causeway resting merely upon detached piers.
The great keep, B, and its chemise, commanded at once
:the lower courtyard and the moat, the back of the sur-
rounding curtains, and the whole of the castle. The
towers H, H, H, H, belong to the same date as the
donjon, as likewise the chapel, D, The upper portions
of the entrance-gateway, and the great halls, E, F, were
io6
THE CASTLE OF COUCY.
Eig. 40. Plan of tlie Castle of Couoy
A. the Bridge.
B. the Keep. C. the Ditch.
G. a Bastion.
D. theChapeU E & F. the Great Halls.
HHHH. Towers.
rebuilt at the commencement of the fiifteenth century.
If the castle were taken, the garrison retired within the
keep, to which the only mode of ingress was through a
single doorway, provided with a drawbridge : a ditch,
C, isolated the donjon from its chemise. The entrance-
passage, A (see the plan of the ground-floor, fig. 41),
was defended by a portcullis, two doors,, and an iron
railing, or grille ; on the right, a spacious staircase leads
to the upper stories ; on the left, a corridor which gives
access to the necessaries, B. This ground-fl^oor was dimly
lighted by a few narrow windows, placed at a great
height above the ground (see the section, fig. 44, upon
the lines P of the plans), and probably by the central
THE KEEP OP COTJCY, I07
eye or opening of the vault, which in all probability was
Fig. 41. Ground-pTan of the Keep of Couoy.
A. The Entrance. B, The GaTderohes. . C. The Ditch.
O P. Line of the Section, flg. 44.
D. The Well.
-■*•* .
repeated at each story up to the top, to facilitate the
communication of orders and the hoisting of projectiles,
and to admit air into the building. A wide and very
deep well was sunk at D, in one .of the eleven, recesses
which surround the hall ; in the second bay beyond this
well is a fireplace. The vaulting, which is now de-
stroyed, but the springing-courses of which still remain,
rested upon sculptured capitals of fine design and on
corbels representing figures in a bending position. The
io8
THE KEEP OF COUCY.
first story offers a plan similar to that of the ground-
floor (fig. 42). Beneath the recessed sill of one of the
windows a closet is constructed, giving access to a pas-
sage made in the thickness of the wall, and commu-
nicating with a sally-port, D, which, by means of a draw-
bridge, enables the garrison to roach the parapets of the
FiS. 42. Plan of the First Story oi'tho Keep of Coucy.
D. The Sally-port, E. The Fireplace. O P. Lines of tlie Section, fig. 44.
chemise. The fireplace of this story is at E. The second
story (fig. 43) offers an admirable arrangement ; it con-
sists of a great hall, surrounded by a gallery, the floor
of which is raised some ten feet above the pavement of
the hall, whilst wooden balconies placed at G, the marks
of which are everywhere apparent, enabled those in the
THE KEEP OF COTJCY.
T09
hall to advance as far as the inner circumference formed
by the upper extremities of the piers. Here it was the
whole garrison was assembled, when general orders
had to be given out. From twelve to fifteen hundred
men could, by means of the gallery and balconies above
mentioned, be easily collected in this immense rotunda,
and whatever was said at the centre could be heard by
all. We know of nothing, either in the monuments of
Eoman antiquity or in our modem edifices, which pos-
sesses an appearance at once so strikingly grand, and so
f£ii;«.S';.
Fig. 43. Plan of the Second Story of the Keep of Couoy.
G G G G. Wodaeii GaUeries. O P. Line of the Section, fig. 44.
stamped with the impress of power, as this beautiful
structure ; of which, indeed, our section (fig. 44) can
convey but a very feeble idea. Still ascending the spiral
no
THE KEEP or COUCY,
staircase, we reach the battlemented story (fig. 43). A
flagged or leaded covering protected the vaulting and
formed an inclined platform, round which a wide walk
or allure allowed of a free passage and access to the
parapet. The channels for the flow of surface water,
which are carefully constructed in the haunches of the
vaults over the gallery, prove beyond a doubt that this
story was always uncovered ; but in time of war a line
\ULXi/'\
Fig. 44. Plan of the Platform Ion the Roof, the Allure hshind the Parapet, and oi
the Battlements) of the Keep of Coney.
of two-storied hoarding was placed upon stone corbels,
built into the thickness of the wall below the battle-
ments (fig. 44). We here see the first appearance of
the transition from timber hoarding to stone machico-
THE KEEP OF COUCY.
Ill
Fj^.45. Section of the Keep of Coucy, on- the line OP of the Plans
112, THE EEEP OF COUCY.
lation. For a work, indeed, so powerfully conceived and
executed as this was, wooden hoarding resting upon
overhanging beams must have appeared a defence not
sufficiently durable. This system, of timber hoarding
resting upon stone corbels, is applied not only to the
keep at Coucy, but likewise to the towers of the castle.
Nor is it the defensive dispositions at Coucy alone
which are calculated to attract the attention of the
architect and antiquary; the keep retains, as we have
already mentioned, fragments of sculpture of the highest
beauty ; and everywhere may be found the traces of co-
loured ornament, exceedingly simple but executed in a
fine style. There are still several curious facts in con-
nection with the construction of this immense fortress
which require notice. Everything therein which may
be classed as a matter of general use (such as the seats,
the steps of stairs, the sills of the upper windows,) ap-
pear as if intended for a race larger than man : the
benches are 2 feet high, the risers of the steps from 12
to 16 inches ; the siUs of the windows are 3 feet 6 inches
high. The materials built into the work are of enor-
mous dimensions ; we find lintels of doors not less than
two cubic yards, and courses of stone 27| inches in
height.
The following appears to have been the plan followed
in the erection of the donjon at Coucy : the construction
was carried on spirally from the base to the summit, by
means of a scaffolding which was fixed as the works
proceeded; this scaffolding, erected outside of the ex-
ternal face of the wall, formed an inclined tramway, by
means of which the largest stones could be wheeled up
to the summit. The square holes of the transverse
beams of this scaffolding, and of the braces which kept
them in position, are still visible, very regularly dis-
CASTLE OF COUCY. 1 1 3
posed on the circumference of the enormous cylinder.
It was impossible to adopt a course at once more simple
or more ingenious for building rapidly, and without use-
less expense, a tower of such dimensions ; a tower which
is not less than 100 feet in external diameter, and 200
feet in height from the bed of the moat to the bottom of
the water-table which surmounted the enriched cornice
at the summit. At -^he present day the vaults of the two
stories have fallen in, and the upper water-table, or
coping, above referred to, as well as the four pinnacles
which crowned it, no longer exist. This crowning mem-
ber is mentioned by Ducerceau in his book, " On the
most excellent Buildings in France" {^Des plus excellents
idtiments de France) ; we meet with some fragments of it
on the upper parapets and at the bottom of the moat, but
of the pinnacles we have not been able to discover any
remains ; excavations made in the moat would probably
lead to their being partly recovered ^. The whole of the
masonry was chain-bonded by means of wooden wall-
plates, from seven to eleven inches square, built into the
thickness of the walls, according to the mode still in use
in the twelfth century. Above the vaulting of the first
story this timber was linked to a system of radiating
bars, also of wood.
It would seem as if this keep had been built for a
race of giants, and the appearance of the structure is in
harmony with the power displayed in its execution:
fitting dwelling-place for that Enguerrand III. de Coucy
who is indeed the greatest figure of the feudal age. We
must bear in mind that this heroic personage, after having
" It is to be desired that the Government would authorize excavations to be
made in the castle of Coucy ; as there is there a mine of precious information
bearing upon the history of architecture, as applied to the military art of the
Middle Ages. We excavate at Nineveh, but leave buried at a few leagues from
Paris traces, still vital in their interest, of the history of Prance.
I
114 ENGUEEEAND DE COUCY.
ravaged the dioceses of Eteims and Laon ; after King
Philip- Augustus had made to the Chapter of Eheims,
who complained to him of his acts of violence and of the
ravages he had committed on their lands, the celebrated
answer, " I can do no more for you than pray the Sire
de Coucy to leave you unmolested," — aspired, under the
monarchy of Louis XI., to the throne of France. He
was lord of Montmirail, of Oisy, of Crevecoeur, of la
Ferte-Aucoul ; possessed the lands of Conde in Brie;
was Count of Eoucy, Yiscount of Meaux, and Castel-
lain of Cambrai. Fifty knights were always round him,
independently of the vassals who owed him military
service. Fifty knights, with their following, formed a
guard of about five hundred men. In the thirteenth
century such a position, and a castle like that of Coucy,
placed a vassal of the kiag of France on a footing of
equality with his suzerain. But although it was given
to only a small number of the vassals of the crown of
France to take so high a place or acquire such immense
riches, and an influence so considerable, all of them in
varying degrees wished to preserve their independence,
and to keep up a perpetual struggle with a society al-
ready aspiring to monarchical unity ; all of them erected
castles : there was not the smallest of the seigneurs but
had his nest, his barred refuge, and his men: and in
time of war he sided with such or such party ; now for
his feudal suzerain the king, at another time for the
foreigner ; according as he thought he could obtain hon-
our, or profit, or, it might be, the satisfaction of a per-
sonal revenge.
How poor soever the castle might be, advantage was
always taken, as far as possible, of the natural escarp-
ments of the ground, when it was being erected; for
thereby it was placed beyond the reach of engines of
THE FEUDAL CASTLES. II5
war, of the sap and of the mine. As the attack was
never made except close to the walls, and as the cata-
pults and other projectiles of that nature could not hurl
their projectiles to a very great height, there was a great
advantage in commanding the assailants either by a na-
tural escarpment of crag, or by structures of a great ele-
vation; whilst means for resisting the external enemy,
on the level of the plane of attack, were prepared in the
lower portions of the towers and curtain-walls. While,
under the influence of the monarchy, feudalism was
undergoing a process of subdivision, it made up for its
decreasing resources by calling to its aid the most active
means of defence; it exerted all its ingenuity in placing
its castle in a position to resist the most formidable
attacks; it multiplied the obstacles round its places of
refuge ; hither tended its constant anxiety,- this was the
end and aim of all its sacrifices, and the best use to
which its revenues and the wealth derived from the
deeds of prowess of its members could be put. In this
way also it served to give a powerful impulse to the
progress of the art of fortification.
We have already seen that the towers of the ancient
Eomanesque period had their lower portions unexcavated,
and the curtain-walls were revetted terraces of earth-
work. From the beginning of the twelfth century the
inconvenience attending this mode of construction had
been felt, as it gave the besieged merely the tops of the
towers and curtain-walls for his defence, and left all the
basement and foundations open to the miners and pio-
neers of the enemy ; thus the latter could place shoring
timbers under the foundations and bring down great
lengths of wall by setting fire to these props, or sink the
gallery of a mine under the foundations and earth-work,
and thus obtain an opening into the interior of the works.
i2
I 1 6 IMPEOVEB MOBES OF DEFENCE.
In order to meet these sources of danger, the military-
engineers of those times constructed lower stories in
their towers, beginning at the bed of the ditch, the level
of the water, or the upper surface of the rock escarp-
ments ; these stories were provided with loop-holes,
radiating in the manner indicated at fig. 46, so as to be
able to direct a fire from every point of the circum-
ference, as far as this was practicable. The same ar-
rangement was adopted in the curtain-walls, especially
wherever they served as the outer walls of buildings
divided iato stories, which in castles was almost always
the case. The pioneers had thus increased difficulty in
arriving at the foot of the walls, for they were obliged
to protect themselves not only against projectiles flung
down from the top, but likewise against arrows fired
obliquely and horizontally through the loop-holes; if
they succeeded in effecting a breach at the base of the
wall of the tower, they were sure to find themselves
opposed by a force of the besieged, who, made aware by
the noise of the sap of what was going on, were enabled
to throw up a palisade, or a second wall behind the
breach, and thus render their labour vaia. So that when
the assailants, by means of their engines, had dismounted
the hoards, dismantled the battlements, filled up the
moats; and when with his companies of archers and
cross-bows, whose fire swept the summit of their ram-
parts, he had at last made it possible for his pioneers to
get to work ; these latter, unless they were both very
numerous and very bold, and unless they could throw up
trenches of great width and bring down an entire work
at a time, found, behind the opening they had effected,
an enemy awaiting them in the lower rooms of the
works, on the ground level. Should the assailants even
succeed in forcing their way into these works by killing
ARRANGEMENT OF LOOPHOLES.
story B. story C.
"7
Story A.
Outer Face.
H-
jom.
-i '
T^i^. 46. Elevation, Section, and Plans of a Tower at Carcassonne.
A A. Section and Plan of the Ftrst Story. B B. Section and Plan of the Second Story.
C C. Section and Plan of the Third Story.
the defenders, they would still have to gain access to
the upper stories, up narrow staircases easily barricaded
and guarded by doors and iron gratings (^grilles).
It is worth observation that the out-works and the
towers of the lists were pierced with loop-holes of a form
II
8
LOOPHOLES AND BATTLEMENTS.
permitting tlie besieged to employ a horizontal fire, in
order to defend the approaches at a great distance, whilst
the loop-holes of the towers and curtains of the second
enceinte were made to facilitate a plunging or vertical
fire. These openings, however, which on the outside
were no more than some four inches in width, widening
to a yard or a yard and a-half inside, served rather for
reconnoitring the enemy's movements, and for letting
air and light into the interior of the apartments of
the towers, than for defence ; the angle at which they
commanded the outside was too acute, especially when
the walls were of a great thickness, to allow of the
arrows, bolts, or quarrels fired through these narrow
sUts to do any serious damage to the assailants. The
real defences of the tower were placed at the top of the
works. There, in times of peace, and when the hoards
were not mounted, the parapet wall, of a thickness vary-
ing from 18 inches to 2 feet 3 inches, pierced with em-
brasures closely set, and almost
rectangular in the opening,
commanded almost every point
outside ; the crenelles, to which
were attached hanging doors of
wood moving upon a horizontal
axis, and which were lowered
or elevated by means of a
notched iron quadrant bar, ac-
cording as the enemy was more
or less distant, allowed those
within to reach easily the moats
Hanging Shutter and surrouudiug country while
themselves under shelter (fig. 47 >').
Fi| 47. A Crenelle -wltli its -wooden
' We give a drawing of one of these crenelles of the upper stories of the towers
of the city of Carcassonne, which date from the end of the thirteenth century. The
EOUNB BASTIONS.
119
Eound towers flanking the curtains resisted the action
of the sap and the blows of the battering-ram better than
square ones, and on this account had been adopted gene-
rally, from the first, in the fortifications of the Middle
Ages ; but at the close of the twelfth century they were
of small diameter, and capable of containing a very re-
stricted number of defenders ; the limited extent of their
circumference allowed of no more than two or three loop-
holes on each story, and they could therefore ofily operate
feebly against the two adjoining curtains ; their diameter
was increased in the thirteenth century, when they were
provided with stories down to the level of the moat. It
was easier for the besiegers to batter a tower than a
curtain (fig. 48), for when once established at the point
A.
Fig. 48. Plan of part of a Curtain--wall with a Bastion.
A. Point of the Bastion. B C. Flanks of the Bastion, on which the Hoards were placed.
D. Inner Wall of the Bastion or Tower.
A, and when they had succeeded in burning the hoards
from B to C, the besieged had no longer the power to
molest them ; but in the enceintes of the towns, all the
towers being closed at the gorge, D, when the assailants
had made a breach at A, or thrown down the semi-
lower door, or louvre-board, hung simply from the two iron hooks in the wall, was
removed when the hoarding was put up, as it was through these crenelles that the
garrison passed from the interior to the hoards. As for the upper hoarding, it was
fixed permanently by means of hinges at either side of the opening, and could be
raised to let in light and air without danger from the projectiles outside, when the
lower portion was down.
I20
THE CTTETAIN-WALL.
circumference of th.e tower, they still had not effected
an entrance into the town, but had new difficulties to
overcome. This is the reason why they preferred, when
laying siege to a fortified place, to attack the curtains,
although their approaches were more difficult than those
of the towers (fig. 49) ; for the besiegers when they had
I"i^. 49. Plan of one Bay of a CuTtain--waU -witli part cf two Baabions.
A. The Weakest Point, or Breach. B C. The two Bastions.
EF. Temporary wall thrown up by the besieged within the Breach.
reached the point A, after having destroyed the upper
defences of the towers, B C, and made their breach,
were in the town, unless, as often happened, the be-
sieged had rapidly thrown up a second wall, E F ; but
it seldom was found that these provisional defences could
hold out for any length of time. The assailants, how-
ever, in all well-directed sieges, made simultaneous at-
tacks, some by means of the sap, others by the mine, and
others finally (these last being the most terrible) by means
of moveable turrets; for, when once this turret had
been brought close to the walls, the success of the attack
was no longer doubtful. But in order to be enabled to
bring these wooden towers, without risk of having them
burnt by the besieged, close to the parapets, it was neces-
sary to destroy the hoards and battlements of the adjoin-
ing towers and curtains, a labour which it required
numerous engines and much time to effect. It was ne-
cessary to fill the moat completely, and to be certain.
THE POINTED BASTION OR HORN. 121
moreover, when the moat was filled, that the besieged
had not mined its bed under the point upon which the
tower was directed, an operation which they seldom left
imtried, if the nature of the soil did not present an in-
superable obstacle.
So early as the close of the thirteenth century the ne-
cessity had been felt, in order more completely to com-
mand the curtains, not only of increasing the diameter
of the towers, and thereby rendering the destruction of
their upper defences a task of greater length and diffi-
culty, but, further, of increasing their flanks by ter-
minating them exteriorly with a projecting angle which
already gave them the form of a horn (fig. 50). This
c
Fil- 60. Plan of a Horn.
A. The Beak. BBC. The Hoards of the Horn. D D. The Hoards of the Curtain.
angle had several advantages : firstly, it considerably
increased the force of resistance of the masonry of the
tower at the point where it would be likely to be at-
tacked by the ram or the sap ; secondly, it defended the
curtains better by extending the flanks of the hoards, BC,
which thus assumed the form of a line nearly perpen-
dicular to the ramparts; and, thirdly, by keeping the
pioneers at a distance, it allowed those placed in the
hoards of the curtains at D to reach them at an angle
much less acute than when the towers were circular, and
122
POINTED BASTIONS OE BEAKS.
consequently to hurl their projectiles from a less distance
and with greater effect. At Carcassonne these projecting
angles, or horns, are of the form shewn in plan by the
figure 50, But at the castle of Loches, as well as
at the gate of St. John at Provins, they were given
the form, in plan, of two broken or intersecting curves
.i isM.
FiS- 61. Beaks of Loolies and of the Gate Fi^. 62. Beats of tlie Q-atea of Jouy at
of St. Jolin at Provins. Erovins, and of Villeneuve-le-Roi.
(fig. 51), and at the gate of Jouy in the same town
(fig. 52) and at the gates of Villeneuve-le-Eoi that of
rectangular works terminating in a point, in such a way
as to command obliquely the entrance and the two adja-
cent curtains. It will therefore be seen that the incon-
venience of circular towers had been discovered from the
beginning of the thirteenth century, and the weakness
inherent in them at the point of the tangent parallel
with the curtains. The use of the means here indicated,
however, appears to have been reserved for places very
strongly defended, such as Carcassonne, Loches, &o. ;
for occasionally in places of the second order they were
content to have square towers of slight projection for the
defence of the curtains, as may be seen to this day on
one of the fronts of the enceinte of Aigues-Mortes
(fig. 53), the ramparts of which (with the exception of
BASTIONS AT AIGUE8-M0RTES. 123
the tower of Constance, A, which had been built by
Fig 63. Plan of tlie Town of Aigues-Mortsa.
St. Louis, and which was used as a donjon and light-
house) were erected by Philip the Bold ''.
But it was at the projecting angles of fortified places
that the necessity more especially was felt of placing the
strongest possible defences. As is still the case at the
present day, the assailants looked upon a projecting
angle as easier of access than a flanked front. The
engines for hurling projectiles did not carry to any
great distance until the use of cannon, and the salient
• " Philip the Bold, who quitted Paris in the month of February, 1272, at the
head of a numerous army, to endeavour to take possession of the ComtS of Tou-
loase, and to punish, on his passage, the revolt of Koger Bernard, Count of Foix,
stopped at Marmande. There he signed, in the month of May, with William
Boccanegra, who had joined him in this town, a treaty, whereby the latter engaged
to furnish the sum of 5,000 livres tournois (about 3,500Z. sterling) for the con-
struction of the ramparts of Aigues-Mortes, in consideration of the cession made
over to hiin and his descendants by the king, as a fief, of one half of the manorial
taxes to which the town and port were subject. The letters-patent to this effect
were countersigned, in order to render them more authentic, by the great oflicers
of the crown. At the same time, and for the purpose of contributing to the same
charges, Philip commanded there should be levied in addition to the denier in the
pound already fixed, a fortieth part on all merchandize which should be brought
into Aigues-Mortes by land or sea." — Hist, geaer. dm Languedoc.
124
PLANS OF BASTIONS
The Ditch.
,ilU"|i|Mli
'i|i..|nii|i<i;|ii
m. 64. Han of an Angle of the Portifioations of Carcass
t—J_P_ ts
Fii. 58. Han of a Projeotang Angle of tbe Castle
of Falaise.
Air CARCASSONNE ANB FALAISE, 125
angles (which, could not be flanked by defences at a
distance) remained weak (fig. 54) ; when, therefore, the
assailants were able to establish themselves at the point
A, they were completely masked as far as concerned
the defences adjoining. Thus it was necessary that the
corner-towers (tours du coin), as they were then generally
called, should be in themselves of great strength. To
this end they were built of a greater circumference than
the others, and were raised to a greater height ; the ex-
ternal obstacles at their base were multiplied by means
of wider moats, by palisades, and sometimes even by
advanced works ; they were armed with projecting horns;
they were isolated from the adjoining curtains ; care was
taken to make the two towers of the returns " as strong
as possible, and sometimes these towers were united by
a second rampart interiorly (fig. 55 ''). It may be added
that, for the reasons given, these salient angles were
avoided as much as possible in all well-fortified places ;
and when they existed, it was because they had been
rendered inevitable by the nature of the site, in order to
command an escarpment, a river, or a road, and to pre-
vent the enemy from establishing himself on the dead
level of the base of the ramparts.
Down to the fourteenth century the gateways were
provided with gates strongly lined, with portcullises,
machicolations, and brattishes of two and three stories
high ; but they had no drawbridges.
" The plan here given is that of the western angle of the double enceinte of the
city of Carcassonne, built by Philip the Bold.
■■ This salient angle (fig. 57), which indicates clearly the arrangement above
described, is one of the defences of the thirteenth century attached to the castle of
Falaise. We have already seen how, at Chateau- Gaillard, Richard C(Eur-de-Lion
had perfectly understood the weakness of the comer-tower of his fortress, and how
he had detached the whole of the projecting work from the castle proper by meivns
of a double-flanked rampart and a moat.
126
PLAN OF THE NAEBONNE GATE
Fig. 56. Plan of the JS)arbonne Gate of the City of Carcasaonne. {See opposite.)
AT CARCASSONNE. 127
The fine Narbonne gate of the city of Carcassonne
(fig. 56), which is one of the strongest we are acquainted
with, and the construction of which dates back to Philip
the Bold, is not closed by a drawbridge. In front of
the barbican. A, or the bridge, B, which spanned the
moat, one or more moveable causeways originally ex-
isted. This plan shews how the entrance, C, of the bar-
bican was flanked by a redent (return) of the curtain D,
and how care had been taken to mask it from those on
the outside. If the assailants forced this first gate, they
presented themselves in flank before the gate of the
city, E. The passage between the two towers, FF, was
closed, firstly, by a chain thrown from one tower to the
other ; secondly, by a machicolation ; thirdly, by an outer
portcullis ; fourthly, by strong gates, solidly lined with
iron, and furnished with heavy iron bars ; fifthly, by a
great square machicolation, G, and two loop-holes, H;
sixthly, by a third machicolation placed in front of the
second or inner portcullis, which was lowered at I. If the
assailants presented themselves at K in order to sap the
foot of the tower, they were taken in reverse by the re-
dent L, surmounted by a large watch-tower pierced with
loopholes ; on the other side of the gate, at M, they were
in the same way open to be attacked from a tower close
at hand. As we have already explakied, the projectiag
horns, N, forced the pioneers to unmask themselves before
the neighbouring curtains ; and loopholes, 0, pierced at
the ground level in the ground-floor chamber, opposed
their approach. Palisades, P, had to be forced before
they could sap the base of the walls, or place their
A. The Barbican. F F. The Flanking Towers. L. Another Sedent of the
B. The Bridge. G. A Square Machicoulis (or Curtain.
C. Entry to the Barbican. Murdering-hole). M. Part of the Curtain.
D. Return {Redent) of the HH. Loopholes. N N. The Beaks of the Tower.
Curtain-wall. I. The Second Portcullis. O O. Loopholes.
E. Gate of the City. K. Part of the Curtain. PP. Palisades.
12,8 THE NARBONNE GATE.
ladders ; and ttese palisades were, in tlie case of an
attack, furnished with numerous defenders ". Over the
entrance of the Narbonne gate, at E, were placed in
times of war a brattish of wood pierced with loopholes,
and with two heights of machicolations \ The plan of
the first story of the Narbonne gate (fig. 57) is com-
posed, firstly, of a central hall or chamber, in the floor
•4,
Fi^. 57. Plan of the First Floor of the Narhonne Gate.
S S. Small Corridor over the Machicoulis. T T. Recesses in the Walls.
of which are pierced the great square machicolation, and
the oblong machicolation in front of the second port-
cullis; it was also from this chamber that the first
portcullis was drawn up or let down. Observe the two
small corridors, S, with their elbows, or right-angled
turniags, which serve as a communication above the
first external machicolation, and which are so arranged
as to allow the garrison to hurl their missiles upon the
assailants without being themselves visible. On either
side of the central machicolated chamber are two re-
cesses, T, formed in the thickness of the wall, which
served likewise to mask the defenders while engaged in
rolling down materials on the assailants, when they had
■^ In the same plate we have given the plan of the first story of the to« er ealkd
the Tresau, of which we already have had occasion to speak.
'' The holes and corbels necessary to the laying of this brattish are still perfectly
visible.
THE NARBONNE GATE.
129
been arrested in their progress by the second portcullis.
Secondly, of two halls or chambers in the two towers,
furnished with fire-places containing ovens; this first
Fig 58. Elevation of the JSTaTbonne G-ate.
story was vaulted like the ground-floor. From the
ground-floor the way up to the first floor was by two
K
130 MEANS OP DEFENCE.
staircases adjoining the passage ; but in order to reacli
the second story and top battlements from the first story,
it was necessary to take the two staircases at the exter-
nal angles. It was in this manner that, at eyery step,
obstacles and diihculties were multiplied; in cases of
surprise it was necessary to be familiar with the lo-
calities in order not to lose one's way amidst so many
turnings and means of access so carefully disguised.
Trom the city, access to the tower could only be ob-
tained through the two doorways, V, the parapets of the
curtain-wall being at a great elevation above the level
of the streets and without any direct communication with
them. The two angle staircases led to the second story,
which comprised the whole internal area of the work ^
This story communicated on its anterior face, between
the two towers, with the great brattish shewn on the
elevation (fig. 58) through an opening, which, when the
brattishes were removed in time of peace, served as a
window ' ; it was amply lighted on the town side by five
large pointed windows, with mullions, defended on the
outside by strong cross-barred grilles. Finally we reach
the battlemented top story which carried the roof (fig.
59). The great square machicolation (or trap), pierced
at the centre of the passage in the vaulting of the ground-
floor, was repeated in the vault over the first story,
and also, probably, in the floor of the embattled story.
Through this trap, which served as a means of defence,
orders could also be communicated from the upper por-
tions of the gate to the lower stories ; for, according to
the arrangement of the towers of this period, all orders
I! In the fifteenth century partitions were constructed to separate this hall into
three.
' In this geometric elevation we have drawn the brattish and hoards as in
position at the top of one tower.
THE NARBONNE GATE.
131
Pig. 59. Plan of tlie Upper Story of tlie NarlDoime Gate.
X. Part of the Hoarding shenn in the Elevation, flg. 58. w. Hoarding in Front.
Z Z. Hoarding on the Flanks.
would be given from the upper stories, inasmuch, as
therein was concentrated the active element of the de-
fence. The whole of the anterior portion of this gateway-
could be furnished at the level of the crenellated story
with hoards, the holes for which are all existing, pierced
at regular intervals, at the base of the parapets. In the
plan (flg. 59) and in the elevation (fig. 58), we have shewn
at X a portion of these hoards in position. The brattishes
and hoards could easily contain two hundred men, with-
out reckoning those whose duty it was to bring up and
distribute the projectiles, and who did their work without
interfering with those in the outer works. If the brat-
tish were taken by escalade, or destroyed by the missiles
of the enemy, the single opening which gave access to
the interior was closed, and the assailants were exposed
to the fire of the two flank hoards, Z, and of the front, "W.
The second portcullis was manoeuvred from the outside
parapet, and orders were communicated to those actively
engaged within the work by means of a small barred
window, which looked into the central chamber of the flrst
story, about the height of a man from the floor. From
the ground-floor of the two towers you descend to two cel-
lars (covered with quarter-spherical and barrel-vaulting)
k2
132
THE DRAWBRIDGE.
by means of two traps, closed over by flags. The wbole
appearance of this work corresponds with, its effective
force; the walls are built, in large courses, of a grey-
ish sandstone of great hardness ; all the external wall-
faces are rusticated, that is to say, the joints of each
stone are relieved by a sinking, and the middle of the
stone is left rough. This kind of masonry was much in
use at the close of the thirteenth and beginning of the
fourteenth century, for fortifications. It is in this way
that all the curtains and towers of the city of Carcas-
sonne and the ramparts of Aigues-Mortes, dating from
the reign of Philip the Bold, are executed.
In castles it frequently happened that wooden draw-
bridges, which were removed in time of siege, completely
Fig. 60. Tiie Dra-wbridie.
intercepted the communication with the outside • but in
the enceintes of cities, the approaches were defended by
palisaded barricades, or by barbicans ; and these barriers
having been once carried, troops could ordinarily enter
the city on the level. It was not until the commence-
ment of the fourteenth century that the practice began
to be adopted of fixing at the entrance to the bridges
thrown across the moats before the gates of the town,
THE DEAWBEIDGE.
133
drawbridges of wood in connection with the barriers
(fig. 60), or with advanced works in masonry (fig. 61 *^) ;
Kg. 61. Entranoe to the Castle of Montargia.
and, finally, in a little while, that is to say towards the
middle of the fourteenth century, the drawbridge was
applied to the gates themselves, as may be seen at the
fort of Vineennes, amongst other examples. We must,
however, add that in many cases, even during the four-
teenth and fifteenth centuries, the drawbridges were
merely attached to the advanced works. These draw-
B Entrance to the castle of Montargis, on the side of the road from Paris to
OrleanS) (Ducerceau Chdteauae royoMx en France).
f34
THE DEAWBEIDGE.
bridges were constructed in the same manner as those
generally adopted at the present day ; that is to say,, the
bridge was composed of a causeway or platform of wood,
4-7V -// ■<1j
iig b2 'ine '±apc=cu, or ohutter suspended from above.
which moved upon an axis, and was raised and lowered
by means of two chains, levers and counter-weights;
¥i^- 63. A Shutter balanced on a Pivot.
when raised, the causeway closed (as it still closes in our
fortresses) the archway of the passage. But there were
SIEGE OF AUBENTON.
^2,5
other kinds of moveable doors employed during the
twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries ; there was
the impecu, especially intended for posterns, which, re-
volving on an axis placed horizontally at the top of the
hanging door, fell back as the person went out (fig. 62) ;
and the gates of barriers which revolved on axes placed
about the middle of their height (fig. 63), one of the two
halves serving as a counter-weight to the other. In the
!Fig. 64. G-ate of AulDenton, attacked ty the Count ofHainault,
frora a MS. of Froiesart.
fine • manuscript of the Chronicles of Froissart in the
Imperial Library (of France ''), we find a vignette which
•■ Manusc. 8320, vol. i. in-fol., ■beginning of the fifteenth century. This vignette,
of virhich we here give a portion, accompanies chap. xlvi. of this manuscript, en-
136 TIMBER- HOAEDING.
represents the attack on the barriers of the town of
Aubenton, by the Count of Hainault. The gate of the
barrier is defended in this manner (fig. 64) ; it is pro-
vided with two wooden towers of defence. Behind, we
see the gate of the town, which is a stone building,
although the text describes the town of Aubenton as
"only closed with palings." Soldiers are in the act of
flinging from the battlements a bench, and other pieces
of furniture and of pottery.
We have seen how during the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries it was customary to protect the summits of
towers and curtains by timber hoarding. It is unneces-
sary to say that the assailants endeavoured, by means of
their catapults and other machines of that nature, to
shatter those hoards with stones, and to burn them with
inflammatory projectiles ; a result which they easily ob-
tained, if the walls were not of a great height, or if the
hoards were not covered with raw hides, or were not
hourdes, that is, coated with loam or mortar. Abeady,
towards the middle of the thirteenth century, an attempt
had been made to render the timber hoards less liable to
be burnt by resting them on corbels of stone. It was
in this way that, at Coucy, the hoards of the town gates,
titled, Comment le comte de Haynault print et detrtdt Aiibenion en terrasse. It
forma chap. cii. of the edition of the Ohronicles in the Pantheon Utteraire
" Then began the assault with terrible force, and the crossbows were set to work,
inside and out, to keep up a vigorous fire ; by which fire were many wounded, both
of defendants and assailants. The Count of Hainault and his guard (route) wherein
were many good knights and squires, rode up to the barriers of one of the gates.
Thereat was there an assault fierce and terrible. On the bridge likewise, at the
gate towards Chimay, where were Messire Jean de Bourmont and Messire Jean
de la Bove, there was another terrible assault and fierce conflict, and the French
were obliged to withdraw within the gate j for they lost their barriers and the
bridge also, which were taken by the Hainault men. And the assault was dire,
for those who were mounted on the gate hurled down timber and planks, and
earthen pots filled with lime, and a great quantity of stones, wherewith they
wounded and crushed all those who were not covered with strong armour."
TIMBEE-HOAEDING.
137
and of th.e towers and donjon, wMch. belong to this period,
were supported (see fig. 45). Still the faces and floors
of these hoards might take fire. In the fourteenth cen-
tury, during the wars of this period, when so many-
towns were given up to fire and pillage, "arses et rohees,"
as Froissart has it, the timber hoardings were almost
everywhere replaced by continuous brattishes of stone,
which possessed all the advantages of the hoards, inas-
much as they commanded the foot of the walls, without
any of their inconveniences : these new crest- works could
not be burnt, and offered a greater resistance to the pro-
jectiles hurled by the engines ; they were stationary, and
not fixed only in time of war, like the wooden hoards. We
have seen in the case of Chateau-Gaillard how Eichard
Cceur-de-Lion had already applied, in a manner in ad-
vance of his century, an excellent and incombustible kind
of machicolation. But in order to secure a broad parapet
Tig. 65. Plan of the Hoarding.
A. The Allure, or Walk on the Stone Wall. B. An outer Gallery of Wood.
C. Machicoulis. D. Loopholes. E. Upper Gallery. F. Inner Gallery.
G, Post to carry it.
for the defenders, and a projection from the face of the walls
which allowed of opening machicolations of a good size,
138 TIMBER- HOARDING,
it soon became necessary to modify the whole system of
construction in the upper portions of the defence. By
means of wooden hoards there was added to the parapet-
walk in masonry, A (fig. 65), a projecting gallery, B,
having pierced machicolations at C, and loopholes at D ;
but the width of the parapet was often further increased,
either by extending the hoards interiorly in the direc-
tion of the town at E, or by adding to the parapet-walk
wooden joisting, F, the beams to support which were let
into cavities formed, at regular intervals, under the top
of the curtain-walls ; which beams were supported at
their other extremity on story-posts, G. These supple-
mental defences were generally reserved for such cur-
tains as appeared weak and of easy approach \ Hoards
had the advantage of allowing the stone parapet to re-
main, and of preserving intact behind them another
system of defences, when they were burnt or otherwise
injured. It was with difficulty that, with stone brat-
tishes and machicolations, those wide spaces and those
divisions so useful to the defence could be obtained ; we
will describe the measures which were taken for curtain-
walls, which it was considered important to have strongly
defended (fig. 66). Corbels were laid in courses, one
projecting over the other, at intervals of from 2 J to 4 feet
at most, from centre to centre. On the outer extremity
of these corbels was erected a pierced parapet, B, 12 to
16 inches thick, of stone, and about 6| feet high. In
order to counterpoise the overhanging corbels at C, an
inner wall was erected, pierced with doorways and square
apertures at regular distances, and of a sufficient height
to afford the roof-covering the proper inclination. Behind
' At Carcassonne, on the south side, the ramparts of the second enceinte were
furnished with these works in times of war ; traces of them are perfectly preserved
in the Karbonnaise gate, at the western angle-tower.
TIMBER- HOARDING.
139
Fi^. 66. Sections of part of a C artain-wali, -well defended.
B. The pierced Parapet, or Battlement.
L. Wooden Gallery within the Wall.
C. The Wall with Corhels. D. The Roof.
G. The Allure and Station for Archers.
the wall, C, were fixed wooden galleries, L, wHch took
the place of the galleries, E, of the wooden hoards (fig. 65),
and which were necessary for keeping the parapets sup-
plied with projectiles and for the free passage of those
engaged in that duty, without interfering with the
archers and others posted at G (fig. 66). For towers,
the arrangement was still more complete. Retaining
the same disposition in the machicolated story as de-
scribed for curtain -walls, they super-imposed on th«
wall, C, another story, H, pierced with crenelles or loops,
and occasionally even at the base of the roof at I, an-
other uncovered line of battlements was formed. So
140
BATTLEMENTS AND MACHICOULIS.
Fig. 67. Battlements and. Macliicoulis of a Tower.
B. The Parapet. C. The Wall. G. The Allure on the Machicoulis. H. Upper Story.
I. Upper Battlement. K. The Doors,
that were the covered way, G, to be taken by escalade,
or by means of the moving turrets, after the destruction
of the parapets, B ; by barricading the doors, K, those
holding the tower would still be able to drive back the
assailants (who would thus find themselves hemmed in
at G on a space without any issues) by flinging on them
from the stories H and I, stones, beams, and all kinds of
HOABDING ANB MACHICOULIS.
141
projectiles. The manuscript of Eroissart in the Impe-
rial Library (of Paris), wMch. we have already quoted,
gives a great number of towers arranged in this manner
amongst its vignettes \ Many of these drawings shew
^i^. 68. Newcastle-on-Ty-ne, from a MS. of Froissart.
A. The Hoarding.
that the timber-hoards, A, were retained, together with
the stone machicolations, the former being kept for the
defence of the curtain- walls ; and, in point of fact, those
two modes of defence were long applied together, the
brattishes and hoards of wood being much less costly in
the erection than stone machicolations. The castle of
Pierrefonds, built during the latter years of the four-
'' Vignette accompanying chapter cxxv., entitled : — " How King David Bruce
of Scotland came with his whole army hefore the new castle on the Tyne."
142
CASTLE OF PIEEEEFONDS.
teentli century, still displays, in a very complete man-
ner, those two kinds of upper defences. We give (fig. 69)
I'ig. 69. Part of the Caai,l9 of Pierrefonda.
A. The Machicoulis. D. The AUure. H. Upper Story.
B. Tail Stones of the Parapet. E. Corhels of the Roof. I. Uiiper Battlement.
C. Weather-moulding of the F. Openings in the Wall. K. The Stair-turret and Watoh-
Boof. G G. The Doors. tower.
the present state of the angle formed by the north-
CASTLE OF PIEEREFONDS.
143
^€0hfiO.-J^. "ill
Si^. 70. Part of tlie Caetle of Pierrefonds, restored.
144 CASTLE OF PIBRREFONDS.
"western tower and the north, curtain-wall. "We see per-
fectly, at A, the machicolations still in position ; at B,
the tailing of the stone parapets where they entered the
wall of the tower ; at C, the weather-molding of the shed-
roof which covered the parapet- walk, D ; at E, the stone
corbels which carried the ridge of this roof; at G, the
doors which communicated with the parapet from the
staircase, and at F, openings which served for passing
projectiles from the interior of the tower to those de-
fending the battlements ; at H, an embattled story,
opening above the machicolations ; at I, the last un-
covered battlement at the base of the roof : finally, at K,
the staircase-tower, used as a watch-tower at its summit.
But, in castles more particularly, because of the small-
ness of the reserved space between their enceintes, the
curtains served as external walls to the buildings placed
between the towers along the line of those enceintes, so
that the parapet- walk gave access to the chambers which
thus occupied the place of the wooden shed, L, shewn in
figure 66. We subjoin (fig. 70,) the restoration of this
portion of the defences of Pierrefonds. From this the
destination of each of the details of military construction
which we have just described will be easily understood.
But in this case we have the strongest possible forms of
defence which were adopted for walls and towers ; many
works were inferior to those as to arrangement, and were
composed merely of battlements and machicolations of
slight projection, with narrow parapet-walk. Such are
the walls of Avignon, which, considered as to their pre-
servation, are certainly the finest at present existing in
French territory ; but which, looking at them with a
view to their efi'ective strength, did not present a for-
midable defence for the period at which they were
erected. Following the method then in use in Italy,
THE WAILS OF AVIGNON. T45
the walls of Avignon are flanked by towers, which, with
some exceptions, are square \ In France the round tower
had been considered, and justly, as stronger than the square
one ; for, as we have already demonstrated, the pioneer,
while engaged at the base of the round tower, was com-
manded obliquely by the adjoining curtains, whilst if he
attained at the base of the external face of a square
tower, at 0, he was completely covered as regarded the
defences in his immediate prox-
imity (fig, 71); and by prevent-
ing those defending from shew-
,V-r<!^ ing themselves at the battle-
■^ ~~^ ments, and by the destruction of
Fig. 71. Plan Ola square Tower. ^ f^^ ^f ^j^^ machicOktionS im^
mediately over him, he might pursue his sap-works in
perfect security. Contrary also to the rules of French
fortification in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries,
the square towers of the ramparts of Avignon are open
on the city side (fig. 72) ; and, consequently, no longer
tenable from the moment the enemy had obtained an
entrance into the city. The walls of Avignon are more
than a flanked enceinte, representing the external en-
' We have already seen that the ramparts at Aigues-Mortes are likewise, upon
one front, flanked by square towers, and we should bear in mind that they were
erected by the Genoese, Boccanegra. The enceinte of Paris, however, which was
rebuilt under Charles V., was likewise flanked by oblong towers ; but the enceinte
of Paris never was considered as of any great strength. Square towers belong
rather to the south than the north of France ; the ramparts of Cahors, which date
from the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries shew square towers, of a
fine arrangement for defence; the ramparts of the towns of thecoin^ajof Venaissin
are mostly furnished with square towers which date from the fourteenth century^
as well as the greater number of the towns of Provence and the Rhdne. Orange
was provided with square towers, constructed at the close of the fourteenth cen>
tury. The Normans and Poitevins, up to the time when the provinces were united
to the Domaine Soyal, that is to say, until the beginning of the thirteenth cen>
tury, appear to have adopted, in preference, the square form for their towers and
donjons. The majority of the ancient castles built by the Normans in England
and Sidly contain rectangular defences.
14.6
THE WALLS OF AVIGNON.
>-^-^^ •*'?
Fig. 72. Part of tlie'"WaU3 of Avilnon, inside.
ceintes of towns having a double line of fortification,
and not curtain- walls broken at intervals by forts which
could themselves hold out against an enemy when mas-
ter of the place. These walls are not even furnished
with machicolations throughout their whole extent, and
the south side of the city is only defended by simple
battlements, which were not intended to receive wooden
hoards. Their height does not everywhere reach the
minimum given to good defences in order to place them
beyond the reach of the scaling ladders (echelades'^).
Escalade by means of ladders.
THE WALLS OP AVIGNON.
147
There is, nevertheless, in the enceinte of Avignon, a
certain grandeur of arrangement, an unity of combina-
tion, which proves that at this period the art of forti-
fication was complete, that method had taken the place
of hap-hazard experiment in the defence of cities, and
that the constructors were guided by the light of ex-
perience and a long practice. In order to complete our
description of the defences of Avignon we give here
examples of the system of flanking generally adopted.
Fig. 73 shews the ground-story of one of these towers ;
Fig. 73. Ground-plan of one of the Towers of Avijnon.
foM
Tig. 74. Plan of tlie First Story.
E. Staircase leading to G H. Curtain adjoining. K. The plan for a Breach.
LM. The plan for an Inner Wall.
a stair-case, E, closed by a door, gives access to the first
story, which communicates by means of two doors with,
the adjacent curtains, GH. A second staircase pro-
l2
148
THE WALLS OP AVIGNON.
jected on corbels leads up to the battlements (fig. 75),"
which are pierced with machicolations. This tower is
1
Fi^. 76. Plan ofUpper Story -with the Allure and Battlement.
incapable of defence, it will be observed, except at its
summit. The perspective view (fig. 76), taken from the
city side, explains perfectly the whole system of defence,
and the means of access to the several stories. This
tower is one of the strongest of the place and is not
closed towards the town ; it allowed a considerable num-
ber of men to muster on the top parapets, and if it
should be sapped at the point K (fig. 73) by the be-
siegers, it was still possible to defend the breach either
by throwing a rampart across from one flank wall to the
other, from L to M, or by hurling stones on the assail-
ants through the great machicolation, pierced in the floor
of the first story. But if the city walls of Avignon
present only a defence of the second or third order, the
castle, which was the residence of the popes during the
fourteenth century, was a formidable citadel, capable
from its site, its extent, and the height of its towers, of
sustaining a long siege. There, again, the towers are
square, but of such a height and thickness as to be able
to defy the sap, and all projectiles hurled from the
engines then in use ; they are crowned by parapets and
machicolations resting on corbels. The machicolations
of the curtains are composed of a series of pointed arches,
THE WALLS OF AVIGNON.
149
yf — \ \f KCMiO SC
Fig.. 76, Perapeotive View of the Interior of one of the Towera of Avignon.
leaving behind them and the external face of the wall a
space adapted for hurling stones or any other kind of
projectile through. In the provinces of the south and
west this kind of machicolation was much used, and
they were certainly preferable to the machicolations of
15°
PALACE OP THE POPE AT AVIGNON.
timber hoards, or stone parapets resting on corbels, for
the reason that they were continuous and not interrupted
by beams or stone consoles, and allowed consequently
long and heavy pieces of timber to be hurled down on
the assailants, along the face of the wall (fig. 77) ; which,
Fig. 77. Part oi fhe Palace of the Pope at Avignon.
falling obliquely, were sure to crush the cats or shields
(pavois), under which the pioneers were lodged.
The art of fortification, which had made great pro-
gress at the commencement of the thirteenth century,
but which remained almost stationary during the course
of that century, again began to progress during the
THE CASTLE OF VINCENNES. 151
wars which took place from 1330 to 1400. "When
Charles V. had restored order to his kingdom, and had
retaken a large number of places from the English, he
caused nearly all the defences of the reconquered towns
and castles to be either repaired or rebuilt; and, in
these new defences, it is easy to see a method and a
regularity which indicate an art already in a state of
advancement, and based upon fixed rules. The castle of
Vihcennes is an example of what we here advance (fig.
78 °). Built in the plain, there were here no particular
circumstances of site to be attended to ; and we find
accordingly that its enceinte is perfectly regular, as
likewise the donjon and its defences. All the towers
are oblong or square, but lofty, massive, and well-fur-
nished at their summits with projecting bartizans flank-
ing the four faces ; the donjon is likewise flanked at the
angles by four turrets ; the distances between the towers
are equal ; these latter are closed and capable of sepa-
rate defence ". The castle of Vincennes was begun by
Philippe de Yalois, and finished by Charles V., with the
exception of the chapel, which was only terminated
under Francis I. and Henry II.
The feudal system was essentially adapted for the
" We subjoin the plan of the castle of Vincennes, which is rather a large place
d'armes, or fortified enceinte, than a castle in the ancient meaning of the word.
At E E are the two only entrances within the enceinte j these were defended by
advanced works and by two lofty oblong towers : at A is the dqnjon, enclosed by an
enceinte of its own, and a chemise, B. A moat, revetted and of great width, C,
protects this donjon. At K are the ditches of the enceinte, the counterscarp of
which is revetted, and has always been so. P is the chapel; G, the treasury;
D, the bridge which gives access to the donjon; H and I are quarters for the
garrison and stables. (See Vtie des maisons royales et villes, Israel Sylvestre, in-f .)
We have taken from the plan given by Sylvestre only the buildings anterior to the
sixteenth century. During the fourteenth and fifteenth century many others
must have existed, but we know neither their situation nor their form.
" The smaller side of the parallelogram of the enceinte, including the projection
of the towers, is 212 mHres long — 695J feet.
*52
PLAN OF TINCENNES.
-H « M
!Pig. 78. Plan of the Castle of Vinoennea.
A. The Keep or Donjon.
B. The Chemise.
C C. Ditch of the Keep.
D. Bridge to the Keep.
E E. Gates of the Castle.
F. The Chapel.
G. The Treasury, or Sacristy.
H H. & I I. Barracks and
Stables.
KK. The Woat, or outer Ditch
of the Castle.
defence and attack of strong places : — for the defence,
for the reason that the nobles and their followers lived
continually in these fortresses, which protected their life
arid their possessions, and were constantly intent upon
improving them, and rendering them every day more
IMPROVEMENT OF DEFENCES. 153
formidable, in order to be able to bid defiance to their
neighbours or to dictate conditions to their suzerain ; for
attack, because, in order to seize upon a castle in those
times it was necessary to engage in daily conflicts, and
consequently be able always to bring into action a body
of picked troops of tried valour, and whose vigour and
boldness counted for more than numerical force or skilful
combinations in the plan of attack. The improvement
introduced into the art of defending and attacking strong
places was abeady highly developed in France, while the
art of field-warfare was still stationary. France pos-
sessed excellent troops, men brought up to the use of
arms from their childhood, brave to rashness, but she
had no armies; her infantry was made up merely of
hireling Genoese, Braban^ons, Germans, and of irregular
troops from the good cities^ badly armed, without any
notion of executing manoeuvres, undisciplined, and, in an
action, more a source of embarrassment than any real
assistance. These troops were thrown into confusion at
the first shock, and then they precipitated themselves
upon the reserves and threw the squadrons of men-at-
arms into disorder J". The passage from Froissart which
p " There is no man, unless he had been present, that can imagine, or describe
truly, the confusion of that day j especially the bad management and disorder of
the French, whose troops were out of number. What I know, and shall relate in
this book, I have learnt chiefly from the English, who had well observed the con-
fusion they were in, and from those attached to Sir John Hainault, who was
always near the person of the king of France. The English, who were drawn up
in three divisions, and seated on the ground, on seeing their enemies advance, rose
undauntedly up, and fell into their ranks. That of the prince was the first to do
so, whose archers were formed in the manner of a portcullis or harrow, and the
men-at-arms in the rear. The earls of Northampton and Arundel, who commanded
the second division, had posted themselves in good order on his wing, to assist and
succour the prince, if necessary. You must know that these kings, earls, barons,
and lords of France, did not advance in any regular order, but one after the other,
or any way most pleasing to themselves. As soon as the king of France came in
sio'ht of the English, his blood began to boil, and he cried out to his marshals,
' Order the Genoese forward and begin the battle, in the name of God and Saint
154 THE BATTLE OF CEECY.
■we give in a foot-note in exienso, shews clearly what,
during the first half of the fourteenth century, a French
army was, and how little the noblesse thought of these
troops of bidauds, of hrigands "J, of Genoese bowmen, — in
fact, of the infantry. The English began at this period
to bring into the field an infantry which was numerous,
disciplined, skilled in the use of the bow'', and even al-
ready supplied with fire-arms '. The superiority of the
chevalerie (or cavalry), which up to this time had been
incontestable, was in its decline ; the Trench gendarmerie
went on sustaining defeat after defeat until the moment
Denis.' There were about fifteen thousand Genoese crossbow-men ; hut they were
quite fatigued, having marched on foot that day six leagues, completely armed
and with their crossbows. They told the constable they were not in a fit condition
to do any great things that day in battle. The earl of Alengon coming to hear
these words, was enraged and cried out, 'This is what one gets by employing such
scoundrels, who fail you at your need.' .... When the Genoese were somewhat in
order, and approached the English, they set up a loud shout, in order to frighten
them ; but they remained quite still and did not seem to attend to it. They then
set up a second shout and advanced a little forward; but the English never
moved. Tet a third time they shouted, loud and clear, then advanced within shot,
strung their crossbows and began to shoot. Then those English archers advanced
a step forward, and let fly their arrows in so dense a shower upon the Genoese
that it was like snow. The Genoese, who were not accustomed to meet with such
archers as those of England, when they felt the arrows piercing through heads,
arms, and breasts, and through their armour, were sore discomfited ; some of them
cut the strings of their hows, and some flung them on the ground ; and so they
fell back.
"The French had a large body of men-at-arms on horseback and richly ac-
coutred, to support the Genoese, who, when they wanted to retire, could not, for the
king of France seeing them thus fall back, discomfited, rashly exclaimed, 'Kill
me those scoundrels, for they stop up our road without any reason.' You should
then have seen these men-at-arms lay about them on these runaways, of whom
many fell never to rise more. And the English still kept shooting wherever there
was the thickest press, and none of their shots were thrown away, for they struck
the bodies of men and horses, who thereupon staggered and fell, and none could
be raised up again without great trouble and the efforts of many men. And thus
began the battle fought between Broye and Cr&y in Ponthieu, on the same
Saturday at the hour of vespers."
1 So called because they wore a coat of mail called a hrigantine.
' See Etudes sur le passe et I'avenir de I'artillerie, by Prince Louis-Napoleon,
vol. i. p. 16 and following pages.
' At Cr&y.
CHA]!TGES IN WARFARE. T55
when Du Guesclin organized companies of tried and
disciplined foot-soldiers, and by tlie ascendancy of his
merits as a captain, succeeded in giving a better direc-
tion to the valour of his horse. These transformations in
the composition of armies, and the use of cannon, ne-
cessarily modified the art of fortification, — slowly, it is
true, for feudalism accommodated itself with diSiculty to
any innovation in the art of war ; it was necessary for a
long and cruel experience to teach it, to its cost, that
valour alone was not sufficient for winning battles or
taking towns ; that the strong and lofty towers of its
castles were not impregnable to an enemy who pro-
ceeded with method, spared his men, and took time
enough in making his approaches. The war of sieges
during the reign of Philip de Yalois is not less inter-
esting to study than the war of campaigns : in the one
warfare, as in the other, the organization and discipline
of the English troops gave them an incontestable supe-
riority over the troops of France. Within the space of
a few months the Prench army, under the command of
the Duke of Normandy*, lays siege to the fortified place
of Aiguillon, situate at the confluence of the Lot and
the Garonne, and the King of England besieges Calais.
The French army, which was numerous (Eroissart com-
putes its strength at nearly one hundred thousand men),
composed of the flower of our chivalry, after numerous
assaults and feats of valour unparalleled, can make no
impression upon the fortress ; the Duke of Normandy,
having lost many of his men, decides on undertaking
a regular siege : —
" On the day after" (the unsuccessful attack upon the castle)
" there came to the Duke of Normandy two master engineers,
' Son of Philip de Valois, taken at Poitiers: afterwards King John.
1^6 THE SIEGE OF AIGUILLON.
and said—' Sir, if you will let us have plenty of timber and
workmen, we will make four great Kas ", strong and Mgli, upon
four great and strong ships, which Kas or towers shall be
brought close to the walls, and shall be high enough to over-
top them.' The duke listened willingly to this offer, and com-
manded that those four towers should be made, whatsoever
they might cost, and that there should be set to work all the
carpenters of the country, who should be payed a good day's
wages, to make them work the harder. These four towers were
made after the plan and directions of the two masters, on four
large ships ; but they were long a-building and cost great sums
of money. When they were complete, and the men had been
placed in them who were to attack those in the castle as they
had crossed the halt of the river, those last-named fired off four
martinets *, which they had recently had made to oppose the
four towers already described. These four martinets flung huge
stones, and the towers were so often struck by them, that they
were soon shattered and broken, so that the men-at-arms, and
those who impelled them, could find no shelter. So they were
obliged to retreat ; and in doing so, one of the towers foundered
and was sunk in the river, and the greater number of those
within it were drowned ; which was a sad and pitiful thing,
there being within it many good knights and squires who
were eager to win honour for their names >'."
The Duke of Normandy tad sworn to take Aiguillon,
nor durst any one in his camp even speak of raising the
siege ; but the coimts of Guines and of Tancarville went
to the king at Paris : —
" They related to him the present state and condition of the
siege of Aiguillon, and how the duke his son had assailed it on
many occasions, but had not been able to take it. The king
was thereat struck with wonderment, but did not recall the
duke his son ; but desired rather that he should remain before
" The sequel shews those to have heen towers, or chaz-chateilz.
» Martinet, an engine working hy counterpoise, adapted for hurling great stones.
' Froissart, chap, ccxxvi. edit. Buchon.
THE SIEGE OP CALAIS. 1 57
Aiguillon, until he had succeeded in capturing and conquering
it by famine, since by assault he could not take it."
No such rash imprudence marks the conduct of the
King of England ; he disembarks at La Hogue, at the
head of an army, not numerous, but well disciplined;
he marches through Normandy, taking care to have
the main body of his army flanked by two bodies of
light troops, commanded by captains acquainted with the
ground who scoured the country right and left, and who
every evening pitched their tents round about him. His
fleet followed the line of march along the coast, so as
to secure his retreat in the event of a check ; and after
each town taken, he sent the booty which it yielded
on board his ships. He arrives, finally, at the gates of
Paris ; continues his victorious course as far as Picardy,
where he is at last met by the army of the King of
France, which he defeats at Crecy, and presents him-
self before Calais : —
" When the King of England came first before the town of
Calais, in the manner of one who was determined on taking it,
he besieged it upon a great scale and plan, and he commanded
to be built between the town and the river, and the bridge of
Nieulay, hdtels and houses, which were constructed of timber
frame-work and orderly set in rows and streets, and the said
houses were covered with thatch and broom, as though he in-
tended to remain there for ten or twelve years ; for it was truly
his intention not to stir from before the town, winter or summer,
until he had taken it, whatever time or pains it might cost him.
And there were, in this new town built for the king, everything
required for an army, and more besides ; and a place was set
apart for holding a market every Wednesday and Saturday, and
there were mercer's wares, butcher's meat, cloth stores and all
other necessary things: and each man might have what he
willed for his money : and the whole of these matters came to
them every day, by sea, from England and likewise from
158 THE SIEGE OF CALAIS.
Flanders, which, countries supplied them with provisions and
merchandize. With all this, the King of England's men scoured
the country round about, the comt^ of Guines, and Therouenois,
and as far as the gates of Saint-Omer and Boulogne, bringing
back to the army great store of provisions of all kinds. And
the king did not make his people deliver any assault upon the
said town of Calais, for he well knew that he would spend his
pains and labour in vain. Therefore he spared his men-at-arms
and his artillery, and said that he would starve them out, how-
ever long a time it might take him, if King Philip of France
did not appear a second time to encounter him and raise the
siege."
King Philip arrives before Calais with a fine army ;
and the King of England at once has the only two pas-
sages by which the French could attack him, guarded.
One of these passages was by the sand-hills along the
sea-shore ; the King of England has —
" all his ships and boats drawn up opposite these sand-hills, and
well furnished with bombards, crossbows, springalds, and all
such things : so that the French host neither dared nor were
able to pass."
The other was the bridge of Nieulay : — ■
"and he ordered the Earl of Derby, his cousin, to take up a
position on the said bridge of Nieulay, with plenty of men-at-
arms and archers, in order that the French might not be able
to pass, unless they passed through the marshes, which was not
possible. Between the mount of Sangattes and the sea, on the
other side opposite Calais, there was a high tower guarded by
thirty-two English archers, to dispute the passage of the sand-
hills by the French, from whose attacks it was strongly fortified
with great double ditches."
The men at Tournay attack the tower and take it,
after losing many of their number ; but the marshals
announce to Philip that they cannot go further without
sacrificing a portion of his army. It was on this occa-
THE SIEGE OF CALAIS. 1 59
sion that the King of the French took it into his head
to send a message to the King of England : —
" Sire," said the envoys, "the King of France sends us hither
to inform you that he hath come, and is now on the mount of
Sangattes, for the purpose of encountering you; but he can
neither see nor find out any way by which he may reach you,
although he hath a great desire to raise the siege of his good town
of Calais. He hath therefore made enquiries by his marshals how
he might reach you, but he finds it a thing impossible. Therefore
he would be glad if you would take counsel with those around
you, and he with those around him, that so, by the assistance of
these a place might be fixed for the combat : and to this end we
are deputed to claim and require this at your hands."
A letter from the King of England to the Archbishop
of York shews that this prince accepted the singular
proposal of King Philip '^ ; but that, after some parley-
ing, during which the besieging army continued to for-
tify themselves more strongly in their camp and to de-
fend their passages thereto, the King of France suddenly
broke up his camp and dismissed his soldiers on the
2nd of August, 1347.
What precedes indicates that the military spirit was
undergoing a modification in the West ; and in this new
path the Anglo-Normans had preceded us. At every
turn in the fourteenth century the ancient chivalric
spirit of the French comes into collision with the po-
litical bent of the Anglo-Normans, and with their na-
tional organization, already one in its nature, and power-
ful in consequence. The use of gunpowder in armies
and sieges was another great blow to feudal chivalry.
Individual energy, material force and headlong courage
» The narrative of Froisaart is not in conformity with the king's letter ; accord-
ing to the chronicler, King Edward refused the oartel of Philip, saying that the
latter had only to come and meet him in his camp.
l6o CHANaES IN WARFAEE.
•would soon have to give way to the calculations, the
forethought and the intelligence of the commander, se-
conded by troops accustomed to habits of obedience.
Bertrand du Guesclin is the transitional figure between
the knights of the twelfth and thirteenth, and the able
captains of the fifteenth and sixteenth, centuries. It
must be said that in France inferiority in warfare is
never of any long duration ; a nation which is warlike
in its instincts learns still more from its defeats than
even from its success. We have alluded to the distrust
on the part of feudal France towards the lower classes, a
distrust to which may be attributed the preference shewn
in the army to the employment of foreign mercenaries
over native troops, who, once dismissed, and having
become accustomed to the use of arms and a life of
danger, and numbering, moreover, one hundred to one,
might have been able to combine against the feudal
system and destroy it. Eoyalty, trammelled by the pri-
vileges of its vassals, could not directly call the popula-
tion under arms ; in order to get an army together, the
king called upon his nobles, who responded to the appeal
of their suzerain by bringing with them Jihe men they
were bound to furnish ; these men composed a brilliant
gendarmerie of picked troops, followed by hidauds, valets,
Irigands, forming rather a disorderly herd than a solid
infantry. The king took into his pay, in order to fill
up the blank thus left, Genoese or Brabangon archers,
or those of the corporations of his good towns. The
former, like all mercenary troops, were more inclined to
pillage than to fight for a cause with which they had
no concern ; and the troops furnished by the great com-
munes, turbulent in their nature, bound only to give a
temporary service, and but ill disposed to go to any
considerable distance from their homes, took advantage
THE JACQUERIE OK BRIGANDS. l6l
of the first reverse to return to their towns, abandoning
the national cause, which indeed in their eyes had not
yet an existence, since no true spirit of nationality could
co-exist with the subdivisions of the feudal system. It
was with such bad elements that Kings Philip de Valois
and John had to struggle against the Gascon and English
armies, already organized, compact, and regularly paid.
They were beaten, as was natural. The unfortunate
provinces of the north and west, exposed to the ravages
of war, burnt and pillaged, were soon reduced to despair :
men who had trembled before a coat of mail, while it
appeared invincible, beholding the flower of the French
chivalry destroyed by English archers and Welsh gallo-
glasses, by simple foot-soldiers, that is to say, took up
arms in their turn : indeed, what other course had they
open to them ? and formed the terrible companies of the
Jacques. Those troops of brigands and dismissed sol-
diers, left to their own resources after a defeat, threw
themselves upon the towns and the castles : —
•' And there were always," says Froissart, " to be found poor
brigands who would rob and pillage towns and castles, taking
from them immense store of booty .... They could scent, as it
were, a good town or castle at two days' journey ; then some
twenty or thirty of these brigands assembled, and they set
forth and travelled day and night by secret paths, so that they
entered the town or castle they had got scent of just as day was
dawning, and set fire to a house or two. And those of the town
fancied there were a thousand coats of mail come to bum their
town : so they fled panic-stricken, and these brigands broke
into houses and chests and caskets, and took whatever they
found, and so went on their way loaded with booty . . . Amongst
others was a brigand of Languedoo, who in this way marked
out the strong castle of Combourne, which lies in the Limousin,
in a country very difficult of approach. Thither he rode one
night with a score and a-half of his companions, scaled and took
the castle, and therein the lord of it, who was called the Vicomte
M
1 62 THE BRIGANDS.
de Combourne, and killed the whole of his household ; the lord
they imprisoned in his own castle, and kept him so long in
durance, that he was fain to ransom himself for four and twenty-
thousand crowns, paid down. And the said brigand, further,
kept the said castle to himself, furnishing it well, and made
war upon the country. And afterwards, for his prowess, the
King of France desired to have him near him, and bought his
castle for twenty thousand crowns; and he became huissier
d'armes to the King of France, and by him was held in great
honour. The name of this brigand was Bacon. And he was
always mounted on good steeds, and as well armed as an earl
and as bravely attired, and so remained as long as he lived *."
Here we find the King of Erance making terms with a
soldier of fortune, giving him a high position, and attach-
ing him to his person ; by thus acting the King made a
great stride towards the defence of the national territory :
he stepped beyond the limits of feudalism to summon to
his aid chiefs sprung from the people. It was with these
companies of soldiers, owning no country or allegiance,
but brave and accustomed to the trade of arms, with
these highway-men and freebooters, that Du Guesclin
was about to reconquer, one by one, the strong places
which had fallen into the hands of the English. Mis-
fortune and despair had made soldiers of the people;
even peasants held the country and attacked the castles.
While conquering a portion of the French provinces,
the English had had to combat only the feudal nobles.
After having taken their castles and domains, and finding
that there was no people in arms, they left in their strong
places only isolated and feeble garrisons — a few coats of
mail supported by some archers ; the English believed
that the feudal nobility of France, however brave they
might be, would not be able, without an army, to win
« Froissart, chap, cccxxiv., edit. Buchon.
THE AEMY OF DU GUESCLIN. 163
back their castles. Great was the surprise of the Eng-
lish captains to find themselves, after an interval of a
few years, assailed not only by a brilliant chivalry, but
also by troops at once intrepid and disciplined in battle,
obeying blindly the orders of their chief, having faith in
his courage and his star, fighting with coolness, and pos-
sessing the tenacity, the patience, and the experience of
veteran soldiers*. At the close of the fourteenth cen-
^ No strong place could resist Du Guesclin ; he knew how to carry his soldiers
with him, and took nearly every town and castle by sudden attacks. He had
discovered that the fortifications of bis time could not resist an attack conducted
without hesitation, promptly and vigorously. He delivered the assault by throw-
ing a great number of brave, well-armed soldiers, provided with fascines and
ladders, upon a given point j supported them by numerous crossbows and archers,
under cover, and thus, forming a column of attack of devoted men, he lost but few
of his men, by acting with vigour and promptitude. At the siege of Guingamp : —
" With trees and pieces of wood and branched bushes the bold assailants have
filled the great moats ; in two places or more are the planks already laid. To the
gates comes Bertrand the bold, and loud he cried, ' Guesclin ! now up with ye at
once ! for I must be lodged therein.' And they set up ladders, like good men and
bold; whereby you might see mounting these undaunted burghers carrying on
their heads great doors, and shutters, and shields, for fear of the stones which they
flung on them from within. They who were inside were afirighted, and be sure
they could not shew themselves at the battlements, because of the arrows sent
against them. The castellaiu had gone up upon the donjon and watched the attack
of those brave burghers, who were so hot in the assault that they cared nothing
for death."
Du Guesclin employed no moving turrets, or other slow, costly, and difficult
means of attack j he made use only of ofiensive engines ; he employed the mine
and sap, and ever with the activity, the promptitude, the abundance of resources,
and carefulness in minor details, which characterize great captains.
He invests the donjon of Meulan: —
" The castellain was still within his tower: so strong was the tower that he had
no fear. Well were they provided with bread and salted meat, and good wine
enough to keep them yet fifteen months or more Bertrand is gone to hold
parley with the castellain, and he calls upon him to deliver up the tower, that it
may be restored to the duke, whose deeds are worthy of so much praise. ' Ye,'
says he, 'I will allow to depart in safety.' And the castellain answers, 'By the
faith I owe St. Omer ! If ye would lodge ye in this tower, methinks ye will have
to take a high flight in air.' Bertran du Guesclin had the tower strongly
assailed ; but his assaults were of no effect j well were they provided to hold out
for a long time. Then he made a mine, and the miners began their work, and he
had them so guarded, that they could not be hurt ; and the miners pushed on their
work, and had the earth carried away so that those in the tower could not see
them. So well did they make their mine, that they soon were able to come under
m2
164 FEUDAL TRADITIONS LONG PEESEEVED.
tury feudalism had played its part, military as well as
political : its prestige was gone, and the troops which
Charles VII. and Louis XI. possessed might be properly
called regular armies.
If we have dwelt at some length on this question, it
is because we have deemed it necessary to shew the
several transformations through which the art of war
has successively passed, in order to be able to make
the different systems of defence, which were succes-
sively adopted from the tenth to the sixteenth century,
better understood. It is needless to expatiate upon the
arbitrary nature of the art of fortification, an art in
which every other consideration should give way to
the requirements of the defence ; and yet such was, the
hold of the feudal traditions, that forms and arrange-
ments were long preserved, so late indeed as the six-
teenth century, which were nowise on a level with the
new means of attack. It is especially to the fortifications
of castles that this observation applies. Feudalism could
not for a long time be induced to replace its high towers
by low breastworks on an extended line ; with it, the
great donjon of stone, massive and close, was always
the sign of strength and domination. And thus we find
the castle suddenly passing in the sixteenth century
from the fortification of the middle ages to the manorial
pleasaunce.
The same thing does not occur in the towns : as the
the walls. Prom teneath the foundations they removed the earth, and had them
sustained with many props, great and fair, strong and weighty, fixed thereunder.
Then came the miners to Bortran, without stopping their work, and they said to
Bertran, ' Sire, when you so shaU desire it we will make this tower to fell.' ' Then
so I will it at once,' thus speaks Bertran : • for since those within wiU not obey it
IS of right that they should die.' The miners have laid the fire within the mine
each m his own portion, the timber being first weU smeai-ed with bacon-fat j and the
moment it was fired, as the song says, the high tower feU down like a crown from
the brow. ' {Chronicle of Bertmn cfe (hesclin, v. 3,956, and following verses )
EXCEPT IN THE GOOD TOWNS. 1 65
natural consequence of their disasters, the gendarmerie
of France lost by little and little their ascendancy. Un-
disciplined, and ever placing feudal interests above the
interests of the nation, they were reduced, during the
wars of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, to the
level of partisans, taking castles and towns by surprise,
burning and pillaging them one day, and driven from
them the next; holding now with one party and now
with another, according as it suited the interest of the
moment. But the corporations of the good towns^ who
were unacquainted with warfare at the period of Edward
the Third's conquests, had learned to fight ; better disci-
plined, better armed, and braver than the gendarmerie,
they formed, as early as the close of the fourteenth cen-
tury, troops of whose tried valour the safeguard of im-
portant posts could be confided ". Towards the middle
' It was particularly during the fourteenth century that the corporations of
archers and crosstiow-meu (arbaletriers) were regularly organized in the towns of
the north. By an ordinance dated in the month of August, 1367, Charles V.
establishes a company, or cormetdblie, of crossbow-men in the town of Laon. The
King named Michauld de Laval constable for three years of this company. " There-
after," says Article 1 of this ordinance, " the arbalestriers will elect every three
years their constable by a majority of votes. Michauld de Laval, with the aid and
counsel of five or six of the most experienced in the use of the crossbow, will choose
the twenty-five arbalestriers who are to form the company. The arbalestriers will
obey the constable in all that pertains to their duties, under a penalty of six sols."
Article 2 decrees that " The king retains these arbalestriers in, his service ; and he
places them under his safeguard." Then follow the articles which confer certain
privileges on the company, such as their exemption from all imposts and taxes, with
the exception of " the aide established for the ransom of King John."
The same prince establishes a company of twenty arbaletriers at Compifegne.
In the year 1359 the Corporation of Arbaletriers is established at Paris, to the
number of two hundred j by an ordinance dated November 6, 1373, Charles V,
fixes the number of these at eight hundred. These crossbow-men, who belonged tp
the middle class, and did not make their profession, were not allowed to quit their
corporation, either to serve in the army or elsewhere, without the authorization of
the provost of Paris and of the provost of the merchants. When these magistrates
took the arbaletriers to any service beyond the hanlievte of Paris, men and horses
(for there were both horse and foot of them) were fed ; each man received besides
three sols, and the constable five sols, per diem : the whole at the cost of the city.
By letters patent of the 12th of June, 1411, Charles VI. ordained that a com.
1 66 INTRODUCTION OF ARTILLBET.
of this century cannon had been used both in pitched
battles and sieges*. This new means of destruction
was destined to change, and did change before long, the
whole conditions of the attack and defence of strong
places. At the commencement of the fifteenth cen-
tury, the new artillery was still of little importance,
but it assumes a great development towards the middle
of this century : —
"In France," says the illustrious author already quoted^
" the war of independence against the English had re-awakened
the warlike genius of the nation, and not only the heroic Joan
of Arc occupied herself with the direction of the artillery f,
but two eminent men sprung from the ranks of the people, the
brothers Bureau, gave their whole attention to the improve-
ment of great guns and the conduct of sieges. They began by
employing, although at first in small numbers, iron instead of
pany of archers, composed of one hundred and twenty men, should be established
at Paris ; that these one hundred and twenty should be chosen amongst the other
archers then existing; and that this company should be specially charged to guard
the person of the king and with the defence of the city of Paris.
Charles VII., by letters patent of the 22nd of April, 1448, instituted the body of
free-archers {francs-archers), to serve in time of war. For the formation of this
privileged corps there were chosen in each pariah, robust and skilful men amongst
the wealthier inhabitants, because those free-archers were obliged to equip them-
selves at their own expense, or, in default, at the cost of the parish. The ratio of
the contingent was about one man to fifty hearths. {Recherclies Hist, sitr les
Corpor. des Archers, des Arbaletriers et des Arquebtisiers, par Victor Fouque,
1852, Paris.)
■I The English army had cannon at the battle of Crficy. From the year 1326,
the city of Florence had cannons manufactured both of iron and metal. {Bibl. de
VEcole des Chartes, — " Library of the School of Charts," — ^vol. vi. p. 50.) In 1339,
two knights, the sires de Cardilhac and de Bieule, receive from the master of the
arbaletriers of the town of Cambray, " ten cannons, five of iron and five of metal"
(probably of wrought iron and cast metal), " the which were all made by the com-
mandment of the said master of the arbaleatriers by our hands and by our people,
and which are for the guard and defence of the town of Cambray. (Original parch-
ment amongst the sealed title-deeds of ClairamhauU, vol. xxv., fol. 1,825 ; Sihl. de
I'Ecole des Chartes, vol. vi. p. 61.) " For saltpetre and sulphur . . . purchased for
the cannons at Cambray, eleven livres four sols and three deniers towmois." (Ibid.)
' The Past and Future of Artillery, by L. Napoleon Bonaparte, vol. ii. p. 96.
' Deposition of the Due d'Alen(5on, Michelet's Hist, of France, vol. v. p. 99.
EAELY ARTILLERY AND USE OF TRENCHES. 1 67
stone balls s, and by this means a projectile at the same weight
occupying a smaller volume, a greater quantity of movement
could be imparted to it, because the piece having a less
calibre, offered a greater resistance to the explosion of the
powder.
" This harder ball was not liable to fracture, and was able to
penetrate masonry ; there was besides an advantage in increas-
ing its velocity by diminishing its mass ; the bombards were
lighter, although their effect was rendered more dangerous.
" Instead of erecting bastilles all roimd the town ^, the be-
siegers established before the great fortresses a park surrounded
by an entrenchment, beyond the reach of cannon. From this
point they conducted one or two branches of the trenches towards
the points where they established their batteries ' . . . We have
arrived at the moment when trenches were employed as a means
of approach concurrently with covered ways of timber "^
' The trebuchets, pierriers, and mangonels threw stone balls : it was natural,
when altering the mode of projection, to preserve the projectile.
i" See the siege of Orleans in 1428. We shall return to the works executed by
the English to batter the walls and blockade the town.
' At the siege of Caen, in 1450 : " Thereafter they began on the side of Mon-
seigneur the Constable to make covered and uncovered approaches, whereof le
Bourgeois undertook the conduct of one and messire Jacques de Chabannes of the
other ; but that of le Bourgeois was the first at the wall, and the other arrived
afterwards, and the wall was mined at that place. Insomuch that the town would
have been taken by assault, but for the king, who would not have it, nor would he
send any bombards on that side, for fear the Bretons should make an assault."
(Bist. d'Artus III., Duo de Bretaigne et Connest. de France, de nouveau mise en
ImmUre, par T. Godefroy, 1622.)
At the siege of Orleans, 1429 : " On Thursday, the third day of March, in the
morning, the French sallied forth against the English, who were making at that
time a trench to go under cover from their boulevard of Croix-Boissee to Saint
Ladre d'Orleans, in order that the French could not see them, or do them hurt by
means of cannons and bombards. This sally did great damage to the English, for
nine of them were taken prisoners ; and besides there was killed maitre Jean by
a double culveiin of five (conlevrine cmq a deux coups)." (Hist, et discowrs cfe
siege qui fat mis devant la ville S Orleans. — Orleans, 1611.)
' We cannot, however, admit that trenches were never employed as a means of
approach before the artillery of great guns came into use. Philip Augustus, at the
siege of Chateau-Gaillard, had regular trenches made in order to close with the
works which he wished to attack first ; those trenches conducted his troops and
his chats or timber galleries up to the counterscarp of the moat. Going still fur-
ther back in the history of sieges, we find trenches indicated as means of approach
1 68 EARLY USE OF ARTILLERY AND TRENCHES.
To the brothers Bureau belongs the honour of having been the
first to make a judicious use of artillery in sieges : all obstacles
fell before theiUj the walls struck by their balls were incapable
of resistance, and flew into fragments. The towns defended by
the English, and which, at the time of their invasion, they had
taken months to besiege, were carried in as many weeks. They
had spent four months in besieging Harfleur in 1440 ; eight
months in besieging Rouen in 1418 ; ten months in taking
Cherbourg in 1418 ; whilst in 1450, the conquest of the whole
to strong places. In the TloKiopKitTtiia, of Hero of Constantinople, written in the
sixth century, and compiled in the tenth, we read this curious passage. A place
situate on the top of the hill is to be attacked : " There is yet another means of
preservation from the masses rolled from above. We must, beginning at the foot
of the hill, dig oblique ditches, directing them upwards against a certain part of
the walls : these ditches must have a depth of about five feet, and a wall built ver-
tically on the left side of the same ditches, in such wise that the masses rolled down
from above should strike against this wall, which serves as a fampaft and shield to
the assailants. The labourers should fortily the portion of the ditch already dug,
in the following manner : they shoilld take stakes of wood some three ells long, or
trunks of young trees, and sharpen them at the lower extremity ; these they should
drive into the ground, so as to oflFer resistance, on the left of the before-named wall
which rises above the earth thrown from the ditch, and give them an oblique
position ttS regards the slope of the hill ; they should then place planks externally
against those stakes, and fasten all round branches of trees woven together
(fascines) j finally, throwing up on this side all the materinls obtained in excavating,
they should prepare straight roads for the ascent of the tortoises. These tortoises,
seen in front, should be those they call spurs, that is to say, coming to an acute angle
in front, and based on a triangle or pentagon, and constructed on this large base they
narrow gradually upwards to the ridge which forms the top of the machine, so that
they resemble in front the prows of ships set on the ground and resting one against
another. They must be small and numerous, so that they can be prepared quickly
and easily, and be carried by a few men. They should have at their base spikes of
wood each a foot long, and iron nails instead of wheels, to the end that when placed
on the ground they should be fixed, and not be carried backwards by a shock. Fur-
ther, each of them should have at its front a piece of oblique wood, like that which
chariots have at their fore-part, to arrest and keep it in its place when it might
otherwise slide down the slope of the hill, especially when those who are pushing it
forward up the slope are tired and want to rest a moment. Thus one of three
things will come to pass j either the projectiles hurled from the top of the hill,
falling into the ditch, will be turned into another direction, or, striking against
the stakes obliquely inclined, they will be stopped in their course, or else impinging
on the spur of the tortoise, they will be thrown either on one side or the other, and
the intermediate space will be sheltered from their blows. ....." {Acad, des In-
script. et Belles lettres : M4m. presentes par divers savants, 1'= s&-ie, torn. iv. ;
Morceaux du texte grec inedit des TloKtopKriTMa d'Seron, de Comtantinople, puil.
d'aprhs les manusc. d' Oxford, trad, de M Th. Henri Martin.)
THE ENGLISH EXPELLED BY IMPROVED AETILLERY. 1 69
of Normandy, which it required sixty sieges to accomplish, was
effected by Charles VII. in one year and six days '-
" The moral effect produced by the artillery of great guns
had become so great, that it was only necessary for them to be
brought on the ground, to make a town surrender.
" . . . . Let it be said, then, to the honour of the arm, that it is
as much to the progress of artillery as to the heroism of Joan of
Arc that France is indebted for having been enabled to throw
off the yoke of the foreigner from 1428 to 1450. For the
dread which the great had of the people and the dissensions
of the nobles would perhaps have led to the ruin of France
if the artillery, ably conducted, had not appeared to give a
new strength to the royal power, and to furnish it with the
means of driving out the enemies of France, and of destroying
the castles of those feudal lords who did not acknowledge a
fatherland.
" This period of history marks a new era. The English
have been vanquished by the new guns, and the King, who has
won back his throne by plebeian hands, finds himself for the
first time at the head of troops who belong to himself alone.
Charles VII., who at a former period borrowed from the towns
the cannon wherewith to make his sieges, now possesses an
artillery numerous enough to carry out attacks upon several
places at the same time ; a fact which justly excites the ad-
miration of his contemporaries. By the creation of companies
of ordnance, and the establishment of free-archers, the King
acquires a force of cavalry and infantry independent of the
nobility. . . ."
' " And siege was laid to Cherbourg. And my said lord encamped on one
side, and Monseigneur Clermont on the other. And the Admiral de Coitivl and
the Marshal and Joachim were on the other side, over against a gate. And the
siege lasted a fuU mouth, and there were broken and injured nine or ten bombards,
great and small. And the English came there by sea, amongst others a great ship
called the ship Henry, and the mortality set in a little, and Monseigneur had much
to suffer, for it was he who had the whole charge. Then he placed four bombards
on the seaside, in the sands, when the tide had run out. And when the tide flowed
in, all the bombards were covered, mantels and all, and they were all loaded, and so
well covered up, that as soon as the tide had rua out again they had only to set the
matches to them, to fire them as well as if they had been on dry land." {Rist.
d'Artus III, p. 149.)
170 FTJRTHEE IMPROVEMENTS IN ARTILLERY.
The use of great guns in sieges would have as its first
result the doing away everywhere with hoards and brat-
tishes of wood, and the substitution for them of machi-
colations and pierced parapets of stone, carried upon
stone corbels projecting before the face of the walls. For
the first, cannon appear to have been often used, not
only for hurling round stones as bombs, like the engines
which worked by counterpoise, but likewise for throwing
small barrels containing an inflammable and detonating
composition, such as the Greek fire described by Join-
ville, and known to the Arabs from the twelfth century.
At the end of the fourteenth and beginning of the fif-
teenth century the artillery have already begun to throw
balls, of stone, lead, or iron, horizontally ; they no longer
confine the attack to the battlements and upper defences
of the walls, but effect breaches at the base: the true
siege battery is established. At the siege of Orleans, in
1428, the English threw into the town, with their bom-
bards, a large number of stone projectUes, which pass
over the walls and crush the roofs of the houses. But,
on the side of the French, we find an artillery who fire
point-blank, causing great losses to the besiegers ; the
Earl of Salisbury is killed by a cannon-ball, while
observing the town through one of the windows of
a turret"'. It is a man sprung from the people, a Lor-
" " During the festival and service of Christmas they fired, on one side and the
other, very horribly and incessantly, from bombards iind cannons; but specially
there was one who did great damage, a culveriner, native of Lorraine, being then
one of the garrison at Orleans, named Maitre Jean, who was reputed the best
master of that art then known, and well he proved it ; for he had a great culverin
which he fired m.any times, being then within the piers of the bridge, near to the
boulevard de la Belle-Croix, so that he wounded and killed many of the English."
{Hist, et Discoum, ifc. du SUge d' Orleans.)
" This same day (the last but one of the month of February, 1429) the bombard
of the city, then fixed near to the Chesnau postern, to fire against the turrets, shot
so terribly against them, that it threw down a great piece of the wall." (Ibid.)
" The French attacked the said castle of Harecuurt with an engine, and with tlie
FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN ARTILLERY. 171
rainer called Maitre Jean, who directs the artillery of
the town.
To besiege the town, the English still follow the
ancient plan of wooden bastilles and boulevards; they
end by being themselves, in their turn, besieged by
the men of Orleans, and they lose their bastilles one
after the other, which are destroyed by the fire of the
French artillery. Yigorously attacked, they are obliged
to raise the siege, abandoning part of their materiel ; for
the siege artillery, like all the engines then employed,
had the inconvenience of being difficult of transport;
nor was it until under the reigns of Charles VII. and
Louis XI. that siege-pieces, as well as those used in the
field, were mounted on wheels ; bombards, (great pieces,
somewhat like mortars, used for throwing stone bullets
of large diameter,) however, continued to be employed
until during the latter years of the sixteenth century.
We give (fig. 79) the representation of a double siege-
gun provided with its mantelet of wood, intended to
protect the piece and the gunners serving it against
projectiles ; (fig. 80), the drawing of a double cannon,
but with chambers fitting into the breech, and contain-
ing the charge of powder and the ball". Beside the
first shot they fired against it they pierced through and through the wall of the
lower court-yard, which is very far, to the eguipolent of the castle, which is of
great strength." (Alain Chartier, p. 162. Ann. 1449.)
" Copied after vignettes of the manusc. of Froissart, 15th cent., Imperial
Library (of Paris), No. 8,320, vol. i. The cannons (fig. 80) are shewn in the vig-
nettes entitled " How the King of England laid siege to the city of Bains" (Rheims)
. . . . " How the town of Duras was besieged and taken by assault by the French."
These guns were at first made with bands of wrought iron joined together like the
staves of a cask, and encircled by other cylindrical bands of iron. There still exists
in the court-yard of the arsenal of Bale a fine piece of ordnance so made, very
carefully wrought ; its length is 8 feet 11 inches, and it takes a ball of stone
12,Sj'j inches in diameter. The breech is forged in » single piece and contains a
chamber of a less calibre than the bore. When the pieces were of small calibre,
they were either wrought or cast, of iron or copper.
172
CANNONS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTUEY.
piece are other ctLambers of a similar kind, of wMch one,
C, is furnished with a handle (see at the Artillery
Museum (of Paris) guns furnished with this kind of
chamber); (fig, 82), the drawing of a boxed cannon
mounted on a carriage, with notched quadrant, for point-
ing the piece. The balls of this last cannon are of
rig. 79. A Dou"ble Cannon Wifh the Wooden Shield or Mantelet.
Fig. 80. A Double Cannon "with the Chamber for Powder.
C. A Chamber with a handle.
ri|. 81. A Cannon mounted on a Carriage -With a Quadrant.
stone, whilst those of the double cannons are of metal.
The piece was fired by applying a metal bar made red-
hot in the furnace to the powder contained in the
chamber. The ranging of these pieces in battery, the
AN ARCHER OV THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY, 1 73
loading of them, — especially wten after each, discharge
the boxes or chambers had to be changed, — the means
required for applying the fire, all this required much
time. At the commencement of the fifteenth century
the cannons of large calibre used in sieges "were not
sufficiently numerous ; the great difficulty attending their
transport did not allow of their being discharged with
sufficient frequency to produce prompt and decisive ef-
fects in the attack of strong places. It was necessary to
have, in order to keep the defenders from the battle-
ments, numerous bodies of archers and crossbow-men;
of archers more particularly, who had, as we have al-
^A.
Pig. 82. An Arclier with, his Sheaf of Arrowa
ready mentioned, a great superiority over the crossbows
by reason of the rapidity of their fire. Each archer
(fig. 82) was furnished with a leathern bag containing:
174
THE LONG-BOW AND THE CEOSS-BOW.
two or three dozen arrows. While in action, he laid his
bag on the ground, open, and kept under his left foot
Fig. 83. An Archer firing downwards.
some arrows, the points towards his left ; thus, without
seeing, he could feel them and could take them up one
by one without losing sight of his aim (an important
Fig. 84. A Crosatow-man with his Shield on his haok, taJdng aim.
From a MS. of Froissart.
point for a marksman). A good archer could shoot ten
arrows per minute ; whilst a crossbow-man in the same
THK LONG-BOW AND THE CKOSS-BOW.
75
space of time could shoot only two bolts (figs. 84, 85).
As he was obliged to fit the gaSLe (fig. 86) or handle
to his arm after every shot, in order to bend his bow, he
not only lost much time, but he also lost sight of the
movements of the enemy, and was obliged, every time
his crossbow was strung, to seek his object out and
take fresh aim ".
Fig. 85 A Cross bow-man fitting the
handle, from a MS.
rig. 86. The Cranequin, or Handle
of the Cross'bo'W.
When the new artillery was sufficiently well mounted,
and could be used in such force as to enable the be-
siegers to breach the walls from a distance, the ancient
system of defence became so inferior to the means of
attack that it was found necessary to subject it to im-
° These figures aie taken from the mannscript of Froissart already quoted.
One of the crossbow-men (fig. 84) is what was termed pwoaise, that is to say, he
bears on his back a large pavois, or shield, attached to a thong ; whilst in the act
of turning to prepare his piece, he was thus sheltered from the enemy's fire. The
iron ring fixed to the bottom of the crossbow served as a stirrup for the foot when
using the gaffle to boud the bow (fig. 85).
176 ALTEEATIONS OF CASTLES TO RECEIVE CANNON.
portant modifications. The ancient towers, covered for
the most part with roofs of small diameter, and vaulted
commonly in a slight way, were not adapted for receiv-
ing cannon; by removing the roofs and forming plat-
forms instead (an operation frequently performed in the
middle of the fifteenth century), it was possible to place
one or two pieces at the top ; but these could inflict no
great damage on the assailants, as their plunging fire
could strike only at one point. Their position had to be
constantly altered, in order to follow the movements of
the attack, and their recoil frequently shook the walls to
such a degree as to make them more dangerous to the
besieged than to the besiegers. On the curtain-walls,
the parapets, which were only some two yards in width
at the utmost, could not receive cannon ; to remedy this,
the ground was filled up on the inside to the level of
the parapet, where guns were to be fixed and placed in
battery ; but still the curtains were so high that the fire
was oblique and did not produce a great effect. While
still continuing, therefore, to place artillery on the sum-
mits of the defences, embrasures were opened, wherever
practicable, in the lower stories of the towers, on a level
with the top of the counter-scarp of the ditches, in order
to obtain a horizontal fire, to be able to send projectiles
en ricochet, and to force the assailants to begin their ap-
proaches at a great distance and to sink their trenches to
a considerable depth. Under Charles VII., in fact, many
castles and towns had been successfully carried by sudden
attacks. Guns were brought up at once to the walls,
without any cover or trench, and before the besieged had
time to place the few bombards and rihaudequtns^, with
which the towers were armed, in battery, the breach was
p Siicmdequin, a kind of huge crossbow, fifteen feet in length, for throwing
darts five feet long.
ALTERATIONS FOR ARTILLERY. 177
made and the town taken. But all towers were not
equally susceptible of the modifications required before
making use of artillery in defence ; some were of an in-
ternal diameter which did not admit of receiving pieces
of ordnance, nor could they always be introduced through
the winding corridors and staircases of these buildings ;
and even when fixed, after two or three shots, there was
a risk of being smothered by the smoke, which had no
means of escaping. In the places which were fortified
towards the middle of the fifteenth century, we can per-
ceive that the new artillery has begun to engage the
attention of the architects ; they do not as yet abandon
the ancient system of curtains with flanking towers, a
system consecrated by long custom ; but they modify it
in the details, they extend the line of external defences,
and no longer place cannon at the summits of their
towers. Eeserving these crest-works for close defence,
they furnish the lower parts of the fortifications with
artillery.
The study of this transition is very interesting : it is
rapid because of the improvements introduced into the
attack of strong places, which forced the constructors to
modify, from day to day, their defensive measures. We
possess few complete military structures which have pre-
served intact the arrangements made in the time of
Charles VII. for resisting an artillery, already of for-
midable strength. There is one, however, which we
shall give here, as well on account of its state of pre-
servation, as because it was erected as a whole in its
present form, and because its system of defence is carried
out methodically in all its parts : this is the castle of
Bonaguil. Situate at a distance of a few leagues from
Villeneuve d'Agen, this castle is built upon a spur or
bluff commanding a defile ; its site is that of all feudal
N"
178 THE CASTLE OF BONAGTJIL.
castles of any importance ; surrounded by precipices, it is
only accessible from one side (fig. 87«), at A. A draw-
bridge gives access to an advanced work wbicb the con-
structors have been at great pains to flank effectually*
At is a place-cParmes, and at E were probably the
stables. A wide ditch separates this advanced work
from the castle, which is entered by a second draw-
fig. 87 PI n of the Castle of Bonaguil.
A. Outer Drawbridge.
B. Second Drawbridge.
C. Gate.
D. Staircase.
E. F, G, H. Gates.
J. Winding Stairs.
K. Drawbridge.
L. Roui'd Tower.
M. Platform.
N. TlieMoat..
O. Parade-ground.
PP. Tbe Barracks.
R. The Scabies.
S. Outwork.
bridge, B, and a gateway with postern,' C. A donjon, E,
of unusual form, commands the outside and the out-
work, 0. At P are placed the dwelling apartments,
reached by a fine spiral staircase, J. D is the staircase
"> This plan is drawn to the scale of ,^, which is the scale of the plans of the
castles of Montargis and Coucy, already given.
THE CASTLK OF BONAGUIL. 179
leading to the entrance (which, is on a higher level than
the ground) of the donjon, E. At S is a work separated
from the castle by the donjon. When the drawbridges
were raised, the castle could be entered only by pass-
ing through the gate, F, pierced in the wall of counter-
guard ; by following the bed of the moat, N ; then pass-
ing through a second gate, G, in the centre of a traverse,
and a third gate, H, opening upon a fine platform, M;
taking the staircase, I, and passing over a smaller draw-
bridge, K. There we come upon a wide and handsome
staircase, communicating with the internal staircase, J,
only by a dark and narrow corridor, loopholed on both
sides. The great staircase stops at the level of the
ground-floor (at a height of some feet above the ground)
of the internal court; the upper portion forms a great
square tower. We here find all the precautions which
were taken in the ancient feudal castles to mask the
entrances and render them difiicult of access. But ar-
rangements, then quite novel in their character, were
made for modifying the ancient defensive system ; firstly,
the advanced work, with the platform M, form con-
siderable salients or projecting parts, which command
the outside to some distance ; then, at the level of the
counterscarp of the ditches, or that of the top of the
walls of counterguard, embrasures are pierced in the
ground-story of the curtains and towers, to receive
cannon; and the towers are almost detached to flank
the curtains more effectually. If we may judge from the
doorways opening into the towers, the pieces placed in
battery could not be of large calibre. All the crest-
works are provided with battlements and machicolations ;
but the merlons of the parapets, still standing, are
pierced with loops of such an arrangement as to indicate
clearly the use of ordnance. Subjoined (fig. 88) is a
n2
i8o
THE CASTLE OP BONAGIJIL.
view of this castle taken from the side of the entrance*^.
We see in this view that these embrasures which are
intended for artillery are pierced in the lower stories of
the buildings, that they follow the declivities of the
Fig. 88. Bird's-eye view of the Castle ofBonaguil.
ground, or are made to command the works in front.
As for the crest-works of the towers, they are the same
as those adopted in the fourteenth century. The transi-
' We have only added in this view the timber-work, which no longer exists ; the
masonry remains almost intact.
EMBEASUEES FOE CANNON.
l8l
tion is thus evident, and might be summed up in the
following formula : — To command the outside parts at
a distance and the approaches, by a horizontal fire of ar-
tillery, and to provide against escalade by works of a great
elevation with crest-works, according to the ancient system
for close defence.
The embrasures for cannon in the castle of Bonaguil
are thus constructed. A gives the plan of one of them ;
B, the internal opening ; C, the port-hole on the outside.
There is only room for the passage of the ball, with a
sighting loop over (fig. 89).
Fig 89. Embrasure of the Castle of Bonaguil.
C Exterior. A. Plan. B. Interior.
These different improvements, however, were still not
adequate to meet the means of attack. The divergent
fire of a few pieces at the foot of the towers and curtains
tendered their effect almost insensible upon siege bat-
teries composed of several pieces brought together at a
single point. While the defenders were sending one
ball, they received twenty ; the works of defence were
riddled with shot concentrated upon a single point, and
fell in ruins before their cannon could inflict any sensible
damage upon the besiegers. When this insufficiency on
the part of the ancient system of fortification was clearly
182, MODIFICATIONS OF TOWEES.
proved, engineers acted as tlie men of those time's always
did, — they applied the remedy where they saw the evil ;
the ancient system was preserved, but the constructors
endeavoured to give their works a greater force of resist-
ance. They began, first, by modifying the towers, which
they built of less height and of a much greater diameter,
giving them more and ihore external projection; aban-
doning the ancient system of isolated defences, they left,
the towers open on the inside in order to be able to
introduce cannon with greater facility ; they pierced them
with more numerous lateral embrasures, below the leveil,
of the crest of the ditches, and enfilading these along
their whole length ; the lower stories were reserved for
flanking the curtains at the moment the enemy appeared
upon the ditch, and the upper stories for commanding
the outlying parts as far as possible.
The fortifications of the town of Langres are a very
interesting study, viewed in relation to the modifications
introduced in the defence of places during the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries (fig. 90)^ Langres is a Koman
town; the portion. A, of the town was added at the
commencement of the sixteenth century, to the ancient
Eoman enclosure, of which there remains a gateway still
in a good state of preservation; the walls of Langres,
after having undergone successive modifications, were al-
most entirely rebuilt under Louis XL and Francis I., and
further strengthened with defences erected according ta
the system adopted in the sixteenth century and at the
beginning of the seventeenth. It was the introduction,
of ordnance which led to the erection of the towers C,;
in order to flank the curtains by means of two parallel
walls terminating in a semicircle. The town of Langres
» This plan is taken from the TopograpJiie He la Gawle, Frankfort edition, 1655.
The greater part of these fortifications still exist.
WALLS OP THE TOWN OF LANGEES.
183
is built up5n a p]§teau wMcli commands the course of
the Marne 9,nd all the surrounding country: on one
Fig. 90. Plan of the Walla of the To-wn of Langrea.
A. Fart added. B. Cross Wall. C C. Flanking Towers. D. Outwork,
£. Second Gate.
F. Third Gate.
side only, D, it can be approached from the level, and
on this side we find that an advanced work had been
thrown up in the sixteenth century*. At E was a second
gateway, well defended by a massive round tower (or
boulevard) with two covered batteries placed within two
chambers, the vaulting of which rests upon a central
cylindrical pillar ; in another tower on the opposite side
is a spiral ramp, or inclined way, for the purpose of
getting up cannon to the platform which crowns the
great tower ; at F a third gate opening on the Marne,
protected by earth-works dating from the close of the
sixteenth century. We give (fig. 91) the plan of the
' The advanced work shewn upon this plan has been replaced by an important
modern defence, which spans the road from Dijon.
1.84
FORTIFICATIONS OF LANGEES.
ground-floor of tlie great tower or boulevard defending
the gateway, E ; (fig. 92) the plan of the first story of
Pig. 91. Ground-plan of the Great Tower, LangrSs.
the same. If we examine the second plan, we find that
the embrasures for cannon are so arranged as to enfilade
Fi J. 92. Han oi' the First Story.
the curtains. Fig. 93 gives the section of this boule-
vard, at the summit of which a barhette battery could be
established. We subjoin (fig. 94) the plan of one of the
towers of the fortifications at Langres, the erection of
which, as well as that of the boulevard, dates from the
beginning of the sixteenth century. This tower, built
upon a rapid incline, is a true bastion, capable of receiv-
ing on each story five cannon. We descend successively
four flights of steps from the point C, opening into the
town to the point E. The embrasures, E, F, G, are
FOETiriCATIONS OP LANGEES.
185
stepped to follow the inclination of the site, so as to be
all placed at the same elevation above the ground out-
Fi^. 93. Section of the To-wer, Lanlres.
side. Cannon could be easily moved up or down the
several flights of steps, which are wide and not steep ;
Fig. 94, Plan of one of the Bastions of Langres, Fifteenth Century.
A B. Line of the Section, Ak. 96. CD. Line of the Siction, fig. 95.
E. Highest level towards the Town. F F, G G. Embrasures.
H H. ■Vent-holes. 1 1. Small Closets.
the walls are thick (about 21 feet) in order to resist
the artillery of the besiegers. The first bay (or divi-
sion), the walls of which are parallel, is sustained by
four vaults resting upon a single column ; an archway
connecting the two ends of a partition- wall divides the
i86
FORTIFICATIONS OF LANGRES.
first bay from the second, whicli has a, quarter-sphere
vault (see the longitudinal section (fig. 95) on the line
-■.^M
■^r
Fig. 96. Geotion of the Baaticn on the line C D of the Plan, fig. 94.
Fig. 96. Section of the Bastion on the line A B of the Plan, fig. 94.
C D, and the transverse section (fig. 96) on the line
A B of the plan). The embrasures, F, G (fig. 94), were
closed by shutters on the inside. Vent-holes, H, allowed
the smoke to escape from the interior of the chamber.
Two small closets, I, were probably powder-magazines.
This tower was crowned originally by a platform and
a pierced parapet, behind which other pieces of ord-
nance might be placed, and harquebus-men : these upper
portions have been long altered. The barbette battery
overtops the crest of the parapet of the adjoining cur-
tains by about a yard, and offers thus another example
of the influence of mediseval traditions; according to
ADAPTATIONS OF OLD WOEKS. 1 87
which, the towers should always command the curtains".
This uncertainty and vacillation during the first period
of the use of artillery led to the adoption of a great
variety of different arrangements, all of which it is im-
possible we can give. But it maybe well to observe
that the system of fortification so well established ifrom,
1300 to 1400, and so methodically combined, was sud-
denly deranged by the intervention of artillery in sieges,
and that the new course of experiments commences with
the latter of these dates, to close only as late as the
seventeenth century. Such was the hold of the feudal
traditions on military engineers that they could not
break suddenly with them, but continued subject to
their influence long after the inconveniences attached to
the mediaeval system of fortification, as opposed to ar-
tillery, had been discovered. It is thus we find, even as
late as the sixteenth century, machicolations employed
concurrently with covered batteries, although machico-
lations were useless as a defence against cannon. So,
from the time of Charles VIII, to that of Francis I.,
the towns and castles cannot hold out against armies
provided with artillery, and history during this period
offers no examples of those prolonged sieges, which are
so frequent during the twelfth, thirteenth, and four,
teenth centuries. They did the best they could to
adapt the ancient fortifications to the new modes of
attack and defence; either by allowing the ancient
walls to remain behind new works, or by doing away
with the weak portions of the former, as at Langres, in
order to replace them by massive round or square towers
furnished with artillery. At the end of the fifteenth
" This tower is at present called La tow dn Mmrche (Market-tower). We
give the only story which is nreserved,-thr lower one.- The plan is drawn to a
scale of ,^g full size.
1 88 TOWER AT PEBIGUEUX.
century, engineers appear to have sought to cover their
pieces of ordnance ; they place them on the ground- story
of towers in covered batteries, reserving the crest- works
of towers and curtains for archers, crossbows, and harque-
bus-men. There are still in existence a large number
of towers having this arrangement ; without speaking of
that at Langres, which we have given (figs. 94, 95, 96),
but the crest- works of which, now destroyed, cannot be
cited as an example, here is a square tower attached to
the defence (of great antiquity) of Puy-Saint-Front at
Perigueux, and which was reconstructed to take the
cannon on the ground-floor level ^, intended to command
the river, the river-bank, and one of the two curtains.
The ground-floor, which is but small, of this tower
(fig. 97) is pierced with
». — t — 1 — 5 — i — ,5" ^m foyj. embrasures intended
fJH^H ^^^k ^'^^ ^^ many small pieces of
^^^^^ '^^^^^ artillery, without reckon-
|B ■■iHM^ ing a loophole at the salient
l^^jjj^Mr-^^^U angle, on the side oppo-
^^^iHl^^^^mi^^ site the river. Two can-
"'^'^^^^^stms'^^^B:.-.'^- nous only (having to be
Fig. 97. Plan of a Tower at Perigueux. j^^yed frOm plaCC tO plaCe
according to the requirements of the defence) could be
contained in this low battery, which was covered by
a massive barrel-vault in masonry, and proof against
solid projectiles thrown as bombs. The embrasures
for cannon (fig. 98) are pierced horizontally, leaving
just space enough for the passage of the ball ; a hori-
zontal slit, over the embrasures, facilitates the pointing
of the piece and allows the smoke to escape. A straight
stair leads to the first story, which is pierced only with
* The adjoining curtains belong to the thirteenth century.
TOWER AT PERIGTJEUX.
189
loops for crossbows and harquebuses, and tbe crest-
work consists of a machicolation with continuous pa-
S 1 .-17.
Fift. 98- Vie-w of the To-wer at Perigueux.
rapet without crenelles, but pierced with round holes
to take the barrels of small culverios or hand-harque-
buses. As a defence this work was feeble, and it was
easy for an enemy to place himself in such a position as
to be out of the reach of its fire. It was soon found,
firstly, that those covered batteries, fixed within small
chambers, and the embrasures for which covered only an
acute angle, could not dismount siege-batteries, and
inflicted no serious damage on the assailants; and,
secondly, that it was necessary to adopt a general sys-
tem of flanked defences appropriate to the new mode of
190 FORTEESS OF SCHAFFHATJSEN.
attack. Amongst the attempts which were made at the
end of the fifteenth century, and the beginning of the
sixteenth, to place the defence of strong places on a level
with the attack, we must not omit to mention the fine
fortress of Schaffhausen, which offers a perfect system
of works very remarkable for the period, and still at
the present day in a complete state of preservation. In
order, however, to estimate justly the importance of this
fortification, it is necessary to take its site into account.
Issuing from the Lake of Constance, the Ehine flows
past Stein, westward ; and when it reaches Schaffhausen
makes a sudden bend to the south as far as Kaiserstuhl.
This bend is caused by some high rocky hills which
presented an obstacle to the flow of the river, forcing it
to change its course. Stein, Schaffhausen and Kaiser-
stuhl form the three angles of an equilateral triangle, of
which Schaffhausen is the apex. It was, therefore, highly
important to fortify this advanced point, the frontier of
a state, and more especially as the left bank of the river,
(that which is within the triangle) is commanded by
the hills on the right bank to which we have alluded as
offering an insurmountable barrier to the course of the
river. In case of invasion the enemy would not fail to
occupy the two sides of the triangle and attempt the
passage of the river at the point where it makes the
bend. So much being premised, what the Swiss did was
this : they constructed a bridge uniting the two banks of
the Ehine, and the two parts into which the town of
Schaffhausen is divided; and on the right bank they
planted a vast fortress commanding the river, connecting
the citadel so built with the Ehine by two walls and
some towers. Those two walls form a vast triangle, a
kind of tete-de-pont, commanded by the fortress. We
give (fig. 99) the general aspect of this fortification, which
FORTEESS OF SCHAFFHATJSEN.
191
we will proceed to study in its details. The citadel, or
rather the great boulevard which crowns the hill, has
p. H I N
Fii. 99. Fortifications of the Bridge over the Rhine at Soha£fhausen.
three heights of batteries, two covered and one open
to the sky. The lowermost battery is placed a little
above the bottom of the ditch, which is of great depth ;
we give the plan (fig. 100). The pentagonal chemin-de-
ronde, A, is reached by a spiral ramp (or inclined way), B,
of an easy incline, allowing the bringing up of cannon.
At each of the angles of this chemin-de-ronde, which is
about six feet six inches wide, are oblique embrasures
for artillery commanding the ditch; in advance of the
sides of the polygon are placed three small detached
works, acting somewhat as bastions, of which (fig. 101) we
give the perspective elevation. Supposing the besieging
force to have succeeded in destroying one of those bastions
by means of a breach battery placed on the counterscarp
of the ditch (for the top of these bastions is no higher
than the crest of the counterscarp, and they are com-
pletely masked from the outside), he would not have
penetrated into the place; not only are those bastions
detached, and with no communication except with the
ditch, but they are armed with embrasures, C, for can-
[92
FOETEESS OF SCHAFFHaUSEN.
non at the gorges of the main work, pierced in the
chemin-de-ronde (fig. 100), and their destruction would
If"
Fig. 100. Plan of fhe Citadel of Sohaffhausen.
A A. Chemin-de-ronde. BB. Spiral Ascent. CC. Embrasures.
only serve to unmask these batteries. The bastions,
built entirely of stone, are covered with cupolas having
conical lanterns pierced with vent-holes to allow the smoke
of the pieces to escape. The first story (fig. 102), which
is reached by the same gentle spiral incline, B, in this
case supported on four columns rising from the ground,
shews, on the outside, a plan perfectly circular in form,
the tower containing the inclined way being the only
part projecting beyond the circle, on the side next the
FORTIFICATIONS OF SCHAFFHAUSEJiT.
^93
river. Towards the opposite point, at E, is a flying-
bridge crossing the ditch ; and on this side the architect
has thought proper to strengthen his work by an enor-
mous mass of solid masonry ; not without reason, as it is
only at this point that the fortress could be breached from
the neighbouring heights. On the right of the boulevard.
Fi^. 101. Perspective View o!f one of the Bastions, Sotiaffhausen.
higher up the river, at a point where an attack might
also be attempted, is a easemated battery, F, separated
from the principal hall by a thick wall of masonry. A
194
FORTIFICATIONS OF SCHAFFHAUSEN.
breacli made at G would not, therefore, admit the enemy
within the works. H is an immense chamber, the point-
ed vaulting of which is supported on four massive cylin-
drical pillars. Four embrasures open out of this chamber,
Fig. 102. Plan of the first Story of the Bnstion, Sohaffhausen.
B. Spiral ascent.
E. Flying Bridge.
F. Casemated Battery,
G. Outer Wall.
H. Vaulted Chamber, or Great K K. Small Spiral Staircases.
Hall. M M. Open Lunettes.
I. A Well. N O. Curtain Walls.
two flanking the two curtains which run down to the
river, and two within the triangle. Besides the vent-
EMBRASURES AT SCHAFFHAUSEN.
195
holes pierced over each of the embrasures, four large
lunettes, M, nearly three yards in diameter, are left open
in the vaulting of the great chamber, for the purpose of
affording light and air, and of allowing the smoke of the
powder more rapidly to escape. At I is a well, and at
K two small spiral stairs, communicating with the upper
platform, for the use of the garrison. Close to the ramp
is a third spiral stair ascending from the bottom. We
give below (fig. 103) one of the embrasures of the great
chamber, ingeniously planned to allow pieces of small
^ PLAN
Fig. 103. Plan and Section of one of the Embrasures of the Great Hall.
calibre to fire in every direction without unmasking
either those pieces or the men who served them. Fig.
104 is the plan of the upper story, or platform, the para-
o2
196 FORTIFICATIONS OF SCHAFFHAUSEN.
pet of "wMch. is pierced with ten embrasures for cannon,
and lias four bartizans flanking the circumference of the
fortress, having horizontal and descending loopholes,
whereat to post arquebusiers. It will be seen that the
two first embrasures to right and left command the in-
terior of the triangle, and flank the tower which contains
the ramp and which serves as a donjon and watch-tower
for the whole work. The four lunettes, M, the well, I,
and the small staircases for the use of the garrison, are
repeated on this plan. The waters of the platform
are carried off through ten gurgoyles placed under the
embrasures. At 'N, 0, (fig. 102,) are the two curtains
which go down to the river. That marked N, up the
river, is more strongly defended than the other; under
the arches which carry the parapet and the wooden
Fig. 104. Plan of the Platform of the To-wer. SohafEhausen.
M M M M Open Lunettes. I. The Well.
hoarding, still remaining in its original position, are
pierced embrasures which command the slopes of the hill
on the side where an enemy could present himself; the
other side being defended by the walls of the faubourg
of Schaffhausen. In order to give a clear notion of this
FORTIFICATIONS OF SCHA.FFHAUSEN. 1 97
fine fortress, as a whole, we give a view (fig. 105) taken
within the triangle formed by the two curtains running
down to the river. Here we see that the curtain, N,
(the one which lies higher up the river) is flanked by a
lofty square tower. We have restored the tower, which
formerly stood at the head of the bridge, but is now de-
stroyed. Of the works which surrounded this, there
remains at present but a few traces. The ancient bridge
has been replaced by a modern one. As regards the
principal body of the fortress, the curtains, ditches, &c.,
nothing has been added to it, or taken from it, since
the sixteenth century. The masonry is rude, but excel-
lent, and has undergone no change. The vaults over the
great hall are thick, well executed, and appear still to
be bomb-proof.
This defence at Schaffhausen has a great aspect of
power, nor have we preserved any work of the same
period in France which is at once so complete and so
ably planned. For the time at which it was erected, the
flanking arrangements are very good, and the plan of
the ground-story, on a level with the bottom of the ditch,
is really set out in a quite remarkable manner. If we
still find there the trace of the traditions of a fortification
anterior to the use of ordnance, it must be allowed that
the efforts made to get rid of these are very apparent,
and the fortress of Schaffhausen appears to us to be
superior to analogous works executed at the same pe-
riod in Italy, which lays claim to having been the first
to make use of the bastion.
It was not possible, however, to execute everywhere
works of such importance or completeness. The object
aimed at was rather the amelioration of the ancient de-
fences, than their demolition to give place to new forti-
fications. In order to effect such sweeping changes, it
198
rOHTIFICATIOXS OF SCHAFPHAUSEN.
Fig 106. Bird's-eye "View of SohafThausen
CHANGES IN THE AET OP DEFENCE. 199
■would have been necessary for the engineers to have
had at their disposal some fixed system, the goodness
of which had been sanctioned by a long course of ex-
perience ; but so far from that being the case, they pro-
ceeded only by a series of experiments, each engineer
bringing forward his own observations and endeavouring
to reduce them to practice. It is a striking fact that,
after the wars of Italy, the French and Germans, having
discovered that the Italian fortresses were narrow, cir-
cumscribed, and encumbered with defences which were
rather in each other's way than of any mutual assist-
ance, adopted in their new defences arraugements com-
paratively extensive in character, and endeavoured to
fortify the outlying parts by boulevards of considerable
diameter. In ordinary cases, and when the question was
not so much to construct de novo, as to ameliorate for-
tifications already existing, while allowing the ancient
system of defences to remain for the purpose of receiving
bodies of archers, crossbow-men and arquebusiers, it was
customary to erect fausses braies wherein batteries for
horizontal fire could be planted, and which took the
place of the lists which have been referred to in the
course of this work. In pressing cases, the ancient walls
and towers of the lists and the barbicans were simply
taken down to the level of the parapet walk, and then
crowned with embrasured parapets capable of receiving
barbette batteries (fig. 106), The towers were looked
upon so much in the light of an indispensable defence,
and it was considered of so much importance to be able
to command the open country, that they continued to be
erected even after the use oi fausses braies, arranged so
as to flank the curtains, had been admitted. At first
these fausses braies were given the same form, in plan,
as had been given to the palisades, that is to say, they
200
CHANGES IN THE AET OF DEFENCE.
followed very closely the contour of the walls ; but they
were soon converted into flanked works. The town
rig. 106. View of a Battery, StfhafOiausen.
of Orange was fortified anew under Louis XI., and
already, at that period, the configuration of its defences
was of this nature, (fig. 107). By means of these modi-
fications, strong places were put into a state to resist
artillery : this arm, however, was meanwhile undergoing
rapid improvement. Louis XI. and Charles VIII. pos-
sessed a formidable artillery : the art of siege-warfare
became every day more and more methodical ; engineers
had adopted the system of regular approaches ; they had
begun, when a fortified place could not be taken by
sudden assault, to make trenches, to lay down parallels,
and establish true siege-batteries, well gabioned. The
old walls of the ancient defences being higher than the
crests of the revetments of the ditches, offered an easy
mark to the point-blank fire of the siege-batteries, and
they could from a considerable distance destroy those
uncovered works and eff'ect a breach. In order to re-
medy this defect, the outsides of the ditches were far-
CHANGES IN THE ART OE DEFENCE.
20I
nished with palisades or parapets of masonry or timber,
with earth- works and a first or external ditch; this
Fig. 107. View of part of the Fortifioationa of the To-wn of Orange.
work, which took the place of the ancient lists, pre-
served the name of hraie (fig. 108). Outside the gates
posterns and outworks were established, and earth-works,
sustained by pieces of timber, were thrown up and were
still named houlevert hastille, or hastide. The descrip-
tion of the fortification of Nuys, which was besieged by
Charles the Bold in 1474, explains perfectly the method
employed for resisting attacks ^ : —
y We borrow this passage from the " Historical Essay on the Influence of Fire-
arms on the Art of War," by Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, President of the
Eepublic, p. 103. (Extr. from the Chronicle of Molinet, vol. v. ch. cclxxxiii. p. 42.)
202
FORTIFICATIONS OP NUTS.
" In like manner was Nuysse notably towered with free-stone,
powerfully walled with works of exceeding strength, height,
and thickness, and strengthened by strong braiesses, subtly
constructed with stone and brick, and in divers places of
Fi^. 108. Section of a Parapet at Orange, cai^d a B a'e.
earth wholly, adapted for defence by admirable artifices for re-
pelling assailants, between which and the said walls there were
certain ditches of no little depth, and in addition, before the
said brayes, were other great ditches of an exceeding depth,
whereof some were crested and filled with water to a great
width, the which bathed the town and its forts as far as the
river. Four principal gates of a like kind, together, and divers
posterns and salients, embellished and fortified greatly the said
enclosure ; for every of them had in front its boulevert in the
manner of a bastillon, great, strong, and defensible, furnished
with all instruments of war, and sovereignly with great guns
for powder^."
In this description we find the bastion standing clearly
out as an important accessory of the defence, to fortify
the salients, posterns and gates, and enfilade the ditches ;
and to take the place of the towers and barbicans of the
lists in ancient fortifications, of the ancient detached
" "... traicts il poudre il pliintfi."
CASTLES OF THE CLOSE OP THE EIETEENTH CENTURY. 203
bastilles, and of the defensive works outside the gates.
In a little while this accessory, the importance of which
was already seen, takes a principal place, and becomes
at last the leading feature of modern fortification.
While they preserved, in the fortresses which were
erected towards the close of the fifteenth century, the
towers and curtains of the internal works, commanding
a wide extent of country by their great elevation, which
towers and curtains they further crowned with machi-
colations, they increased the thickness of the masonry,
so as to render it capable of resisting siege-artillery, as
we have shewn in the plans of the towers and boulevards
of Langres and Schaffhausen. When the Constable of
Saiat Pol had the castle of Ham rebuilt in 1470, he not
only thought it necessary to provide this fortress with
advanced works and walls of counter-guard, but he had
the towers and curtains, and more especially the great
tower or donjon, built of such a thickness that those
structures are still able to resist, during a considerable
time, the force of modern artillery.
Up to the period at which we have arrived, it was in
the details of the defence, the form and situation of the
towers and curtains, that modifications had been intro-
duced, with the view of meeting the new requirements ;
but the mode of construction in fortified works had
undergone no change since the eleventh century. This
consisted uniformly of two wall-faces of cut stone, brick,
or rubble, enclosing a body or core of irregular rubble
or stone concrete. Opposed to the sap or the ram, this
sort of construction was good, for the pioneers found it
more difficult to dislodge a mass of rubble, when the
stone and mortar of which it was composed were hard
and adhesive, than a structure built of regular masonry
throughout ; which, when a few stones came to be dis-
204 MODES OP STRENGTHENING WALLS.
placed, easily fell to pieces ; regular masonry never pre-
serving the homogeneity of well-built rubble-work. This
kind of structure, therefore, resisted the shocks of the
battering-ram more effectually than would a body of
ashlar- work; but when pieces. of ordnance came to re-
place the engines and instruments of destruction which
had been employed in the middle ages, it was soon dis-
covered that the stone revetments of these works, which
were ordinarily from twelve to twenty inches in thick-
ness, were readily shaken by the impact of iron balls ;
that they became detached from the internal core and
left it exposed to the full effect of the fire, and that the
stone merlons ", when struck by cannon-balls, were shat-
tered into fragments, and became themselves a means of
destruction more deadly than the balls themselves. The
architects of those works of defence, in order to prevent
the shaking of the ancient walls and towers, strength-
ened the curtains by solid earth-works on the inside,
and sometimes filled up solid the lower stories of towers.
But when the wall fell under the fire of siege-artillery,
those masses of earth tumbling forward with it, by form-
ing a natural talus or incline, facilitated the access to the
breach; while the simple walls, not backed by earth-
works internally, when they fell, formed breaches of ir-
regular configuration and of very difficult access. To
remedy these defects, when the ancient defences were
retained but adapted to act as a defence against artillery,
the internal earth- works had occasionally wooden sleepers,
or the branches of trees smoked or made resinous to pre-
serve them from rotting, laid into the body of the clay in
all directions ; earth-works of this kind were firm enough
The name given to those parts of the parapets between the crenelles or
irasures.
embrasures
EE-ENTERING EAMPART8.
205
not to fall with tlie wall, and they rendered the breach
impracticable. If it happened that the ancient walls
had been simply backed up on the inside, so as to allow
cannon to be placed on the parapet level, and the ancient
crenellage had been simply replaced by thick merlons
and embrasures of stone ; then, when the besieged force
had ascertained the point at which attack was threat-
ened, and while the besiegers were making their last
approaches and were engaged in effecting a breach, they
threw up, in the rear of the front attacked, a work of
timber and earth, and between this work and the breach
they sank a ditch; the breach having become prac-
ticable, the besiegers threw forward their columns of
attack, who now found themselves in front of a new
rampart, well furnished with artillery ; and the siege had
to be begun afresh. This re-entering work was very
difficult of access, being flanked by its natural con-
formation, nor could the assailants venture on carrying
by assault a work which took them in face, in flank,
and even in reverse. When Blaise de Montluc defends
Sienna, he throws up behind the ancient walls of the
city, and at the points where he supposes they will be
attacked, re-entering ramparts ia the manner of those
sketched below (fig. 109).
" ' So I had determined/ says he, ' that if the enemy came to
assail us with artillery, to intrench myself at a distance from
the wall, outside which the battery was placed, to let them enter
at their ease ; and I took care always to close the two extremi-
ties, and to place at each four or five pieces of heavy artillery,
charged with thick chains, and nails, and pieces of iron. Be-
hind this place of retreat (retirade) I decided on placing all the
musketry of the town, together with the arquebusery, and when
they should he within, to have the artillery and arquehusery
to fire at once ; and we, who would be at the two extremities,
2o6
FORTIPICATIONS OF SIENNA.
could then set upon tliem with pikes, halberds, swords, and
bucklers ^'"
Fig. 109, View of part of the Fortifications of Sienna.
This temporary defensive arrangement was not long
in being established as a fixed system, as we shall pre-
sently see.
When the effects of artillery were well known, and it
became an ascertained fact that walls of masonry of some
'' Comment, of the Maresohal de Montluc, edit. Buchon, p. 142.
EFFECTS OF ARTILLEEY. 207
two or three yards in thickness (which was the mean
thickness of curtains before the regular use of ordnance)
could not resist a battery dischargiag from three to five
hundred balls over a surface of eight yards square or
thereabouts", at the same time that walls of masonry
were lowered, various means were employed to give
» From the close of the sixteenth century, the French artillery had adopted six
calibres for ordnance : — 1st, the cannon, the length of which was 10 ft., with a ball
weighing SSJlbs.; 2nd, the culverin, lift, long, with a ball weighing 12Jlbs.;
3rd, the Mtarde, 9J ft. long, with ball 7i lbs. ; 4th, the moyewne, 8 ft. 2 in. long,
with ball weighing 2| lbs. 5 5th, the/a»oo«, 7 ft. long, with a ball of li lbs. j 6th,
the famconneaa, the length of which was 5 ft. 4 in., with a ball weighing 14 or.
{La Fortification, by Errard, of Bar-le-Duc, Paris, 1620.)
The following are some of the guns in use at the same period in England (see
" A Military Dictionary explaining all DifBcult Terms in Martial Discipline, Forti-
fication, and Gunnery," by an officer who served several years abroad. London,
1702) :—
Demi-cannon lowest. A great gun that carries a ball of 30 lbs. weight and 6 in.
diameter. Its charge of powder 14 lbs. It shoots point-blank 156 paces. The
weight of it 5,400 lbs., the length 11 ft., the diameter of the bore 6| in.
Demi-cannon ordinary. A great gun 6|in. diameter in the bore, 12 ft. long,
weighs 5,600 lbs., takes a charge of 17 lbs. 8 oz. of powder, carries a shot 6^ in.
diameter, and 32 lbs. weight, and shoots point-blank 162 paces.
Demi-cannon of the greatest size. A gun 6f in. diameter in the bore, 12 ft. long,
6,000 lbs. weight. The piece shoots point-blank 180 paces, 36 lbs. shot.
Demi-culverin of the lowest size : 4| in. diameter, 10 ft. long, 2,000 lbs. weight c
shoots point-blank 174 paces, 9 lbs. shot.
Demi-culverin ordinary : 4^ in. diameter in the bore, 10 ft. long, 2,700 lbs.
weight : shoots point-blank 175 paces, 10 lbs. 11 oz. shot.
Demi-culverin, elder sort : 4§ in. diameter, lOJ ft. long, 3,000 lbs. weight ; point-
blank shot 178 paces, 12 lbs. 11 oz. shot.
Thfre were also —
Culverin of the least size : bore 5 in. diameter, 4,000 lbs. weight ; random shot,
180 paces, weiglit of shot 15 lbs.
Culverin ordinary: bore 5iin. diameter, 4,500 lbs. weight; carries a shot
17 lbs. 5 oz.
Culverin of the largest size : 5 J in. diameter in the bore, 4,800 lbs. weight ;
carries a shot 20 lbs. weight.
Cannon Soyal or of Eight : 8 in. diameter in the bore, 12 ft. long, 8,000 lbs.
weight J weight of ball 48 lbs. Its point-blank shot is 185 paces.
There were other names given to pieces of ordnance, as: — Whole Cannon,
Bastard Cannon or Cannon of Seven, Demi-cannon 24 pounders. Whole Culverin
12 pounders, Demi-culverin 6 pounders, Sakers, Minions 3 pounders, Drakes and
Pedrerses.
It is worthy of remark that the range of point-blank fire then attained does not
appear to have exceeded 190 paces. — Tb.
208
USE OF DISCHARGING-ARCHES.
ttem a greater force of resistance. In constructions of
a date anterior to the use of cannon, it had been some-
times customary, in order the better to resist the action
of the mine, the sap, or the ram, to build in the thick-
ness of the walls relieving or discharging-arches, masked
by the outer face ; which, by carrying the weight of the
walls upon detached points, supported the parapets, and
hindered the walls from falling all of a piece, unless it so
happened that the besiegers had sapped them precisely
at the concealed points of support (fig. 110), a casualty
Fig. 110. View of the Parapet of the Curlain-'wall, inside.
which could only be the effect of chance. In the six-
teenth century this system was made perfect; for not
only were discharging-arches built in the thickness of
the curtains of masonry, but these were strengthened by
internal abutments buried in the earth-works, and sus-
taining the revetments by means of vertical semicircular
vaults (fig. 111). Care was taken not to connect these
buttresses with the solid portion of the walls throughout
their whole height, in order to hinder the revetments,
when they fell by the action of the balls, from carrying
the buttresses with them; these internal spurs could
also, by sustaining the earth-work between them, offer
EAMPART8 FOR ARTILLERT, 209
ah obstacle which it would be difficult to overthrow.
But those means were costly; they always required,
Fig. 111. View of a Parapet she-winft the Construotion.
besides, that the walls should form a somewhat con-
siderable escarpment above the level of the counterscarp,,
of the ditch. It was with difficulty engineers could be
brought to abandon their elevated works; for, at this
period, assault by escalade was still frequently attempted
by besieging troops, and the narratives of the sieges of
fortified places make frequent mention of them. Besides,
the means abeady described, whether for placing walls
in a state to resist cannon, or for presenting a new ob-
stacle to the besiegers when they had succeeded in over-
throwing them, they did what was called remparer the
fortifications, that is to say, they fijced on the outside of
the ditches, or even as a protection to the wall to deaden
the balls, or at a certain distance within the works,
ramparts of wood and earth, the first forming a covered
way, or a revetment to the wall, and the second a series
of boulevards behind which to place artillery : Istly, to
embarrass the approaches and prevent a sudden assault,
or to preserve the wall from the effect of cannon shot ;
2ndly, to arrest the besiegers when the breach was
p
0,10
RAMPAETS OP EARTH AND TIMBER.
effected. The first-named replaced tlie ancient lists, and ;
the second obliged the besiegers to besiege the place
anew, after the wall of enclosure had been destroyed.
These ramparts of earth deadened the ball and resisted
longer than walls of masonry; and they were better
adapted to receive and to protect pieces in battery than
the old earth-work parapets. They were constructed in
several ways ; the strongest were formed by means of an
external revetment composed of vertical pieces of timber
connected by St. Andrew's crosses, in order to hinder
the work from undergoing displacement when some of
its parts had been injured by the balls. Behind this
timber-work facing was a series of fascines of small
branches interlaced, or wat-
tles, then an earth-work
composed of alternate layers
of wattles and earth. Some-
times the rampart was
formed of two rows of
strong stakes fixed verti-
cally, bound together by
means of flexible withes,
and having a horizontal frame-work keyed in (fig. 112) ;
the intervals being filled in with stiff clay well rammed
down, with all the pebbles taken out, and interspersed
with very small pieces of wood. Or else trunks of trees
laid down horizontally, connected together by cross-pieces
keyed through, and with the intervals filled in as last
described, formed the rampart (fig. 113). Embrasures
were left at intervals, with hanging flaps. If the be^
sieged were attacked suddenly, or if they could not ob-
tain the kind of clay required, they contented themselves
with binding together trees which retained a portion of
their branches, the interspaces being filled in with fas-
Fj^. 112. Pascines.
EAMPAETS OF TIMBEE.
211
cines (fig. 114*). Those new impediments opposed to
siege-artillery led to the use of hollow balls and pro-
Fig. 113. Rampart formed of the Trunks of Trees.
jectiles charged with combustibles, which, exploding in
the midst of the ramparts, produced great disorder. By
^^■■'5«i^?i'f^ll|p^^ m^^
^.
Fig. 114. Hampart formed of Branches of Trees.
degrees, sudden overt attacks had to be abandoned, and
•places thus guarded approached only under cover, and
.along winding trenches, the angular or rounded turnings
■of which were protected from enfilade fire by gabions
filled with earth and set on end. These large gabions
served also for masking pieces placed in battery; the
* See Le roi sage, Recit des Actions de I'lEmperewi' Maximilien I", by Mark
Treitzsaurwen, with the engravings of Hannsen Burgmair, published in 1775;
Vienna. (The engravings in wood of this work date from the commencement of
the sixteenth century.)
p 2
2,12
EMBEASUEE8 FOEMED WITH GABIONS,
intervals between the gabions forming the embrasures
(fig. 115'). When the besiegers, by means of trenches,
Fig. 115. Era'braaurea iormed -with G-abions.
succeeded in placing their last batteries close up to the
fortifications, and these latter were furnished with good
external ramparts and with walls of great elevation, it
became a matter of necessity to protect the breach bat-
tery against the horizontal and plunging fire of these
works, by embankments of earth surmounted with rows
of gabions or of palisades strongly bound together and
lined with wattles. Those works could only be executed
during the night, as it is the practice still to execute
them (fig. 116 0. -.
Whilst thus improving the defensive works, by
strengthening the walls with ramparts of timber or
earth on the outside of the ditches, or against the outer
face of the walls themselves, it was felt that these means,
although rendering the effect of the fire of the artillery
less terrible and immediate, still could do no more than
retard the assault by a few days; and that a fortified
' See the note on the preceding page.
' Ibid.
THE TRENCHES "WITH GABIONS.
213
place, when once invested, and with breach-batteries
fixed within a short distance of its walls, found itself
Fig. 116. View of tiie Trenohsa.-witti Gations, &o
shut up within these walls, without being able to at-
tempt sorties or to hold any communication beyond. In
214
FOETIFICATIONS OP METZ.
conformity with tlie method hitherto in use, the assail-
ants still, at the close of the fifteenth century and the
beginning of the sixteenth, directed all their efforts
against the gates ; the ancient barbicans, whether of
stone or of wood (boulevards), were no longer either
spacious enough or sufficiently well flanked, to oblige
the besieging force to undertake any great works of
approach ; and they were easily destroyed : whilst, once
having effected a lodgment in these outworks, the enemy
n^. 117 The Mazelle Gate and Barbican at Metz.
A. Barbican. B. Ancient Curtain. C. Later Curtain.
fortified himself in his position, established his batteries,
and concentrated his fire upon the gates. These were.
WIDENING THE AREA.
215
therefore, the first points upon which the attention of
constructors of fortifications became fixed. From the
close of the fifteenth century the great object aimed at
was to guard the gates and the Utes-de-pont ; to flank
those gates by defences adapted to receive artillery,
taking as much advantage as possible of the existing
defences and improving them. The Mazelle gate (fig.
117) of the city of Metz « had been strengthened in
this manner; the ancient barbican, at A, had been
levelled and terraced to take cannon ; the curtain- wall,
B, had been rampired (rampare) on the inner side, and
the one, C, reconstructed so as to command the first
gate. But defences so narrow and restricted did not
suffice ; those who conducted the defence were in each
other's way; while the siege-batteries, when brought
into position before works thus accumulated on a single
point, destroyed them all at the same moment, and flung
the defenders into disorder. Engineers soon obeyed the
necessity there was for widening the area of defence,
and extending the works so as to command a greater
space of ground. To this end, they erected boulevards
outside the gates, in order to afford the latter shelter
from the effects of artillery (fig. US'-); sometimes these
boulevards were furnished with famses hraies to receive
arquebusiers ; if the enemy, after having destroyed the
merlons of the boulevards and dismounted the batteries,
reached the ditch, the arquebusiers retarded the assault,
A great extension, also, was given to the external works
in order to form places d'' amies in front of the gates.
The increasing power of artillery led, as its result, to the
gradual extension of the fronts of fortifications, and to
s Mazelle Gate at Metz, (Topog. of Gaul, Mgrian, 1655.)
^ Gate of Lectonre. Ibid.
ai6
rOETIFICATIONS 07 METZ.
their passing beyond the limits of the ancient walls and
towers, to which tradition, quite as much as any motive
Fig. 118. View of J3arl3ican, or Boulevard, Metz.
of economy, had at first confined them. The towns were
attached to their old walls, and could not be induced all
of a sudden to look upon them as defences all but value-
less; if necessity required they should be altered, this
was almost always effected by means of works of a pro-
visional character. The new art of fortification was still
but in its elements, and each engineer endeavoured,
by experiment, not indeed to establish a system which
should be original and universal, but to preserve the an-
cient walls of his town by intrenchments, partaking more
rOETIFICATIONS OF HULL. 21 7
of the character of field-works than of that of a system of
fixed defences, methodically planned. These various ex-
periments, however, would necessarily lead to a general
result : the ditches were in a short time carried round
the boulevards of the gates, front and rear, in a manner
which had already been adopted at some barbicans ; and
on the outside of these ditches, ramparts of earth were
thrown up forming a covert-way. It was thus by slow
degrees that engineers succeeded in commanding the
approaches of the besieging force. The want was felt of
fortifying the outlying parts, of protecting towns by
works of sufficient projection to hinder siege-batteries
from bombarding the dwellings and stores of the be-
sieged ; and it was more especially along navigable rivers
and sea-ports that they had already in the fifteenth cen-
tury begun to plant towers (or bastilles) connected by
ramparts, in order to place the ships out of the reach of
projectiles. The towns of Hull in Lincolnshire, of Lu-
beck in Holstein, of Leghorn, of Bordeaux, of Douai, of
Lieges, of Arras, of Basle, &c., possessed bastilles capa-
ble of receiving cannon. We subjoin the plan of the
line of towers of Kingston-upon-HuU, reproduced by
Mr. J. H. Parker (fig. 119 '). As regards the bastilles
of Lubeck, they were detached, or connected with terra
firma by jetties, and thus formed salients of very con-
siderable projection surrounded on all sides by water
(fig. 120 '^). These latter bastilles appear to have been
constructed of timber and earth.
, ' Some Account of Domest. Architect, in England, from Edward I. to Eichard II. j
Oxford, J. H. Parker, 1853. The castle of Kingston-upon-HuU was founded by
King Edward I. after the battle of Dunbar, but the fortifications here figured are
certainly of a later date, and belong probably to the close of the fifteenth century.
Mr. Parker remarks with justice that they were in conformity with the external
defences adopted in Prance.
'' After an engraving of the sixteenth century from the author's collection.
21 8
-POETIFICATIONS OF HULL.
Th.e method of defending gates by bastions, or boule-
vards, of a circular form, was employed in Trance from
PftA'^O 5,C \
FiJ. 119. Part of the Fortifications of the Town of Hull.
the time of Charles VIII. MacbiaveUi, in his " Treatise
on the Art of War," 1. viii., thus expresses himself: —
" But ... if we have anything considerable (in the way of
military institutions,) we owe it entirely to the ultramontanes.
You know, and your friends can remember, what was the state
of weakness of our fortifications before the invasion of Charles
VIII. in Italy, in the year 1494."
And in the official account of his visit of inspection
F0RTIFICA1*I0N8 OP" LTJBECK.
219
to the fortifications of Plorence, in 1526, occurs the
following passage : —
" We arrived afterwards at the gate of San-Griorgio (on tlie
left bank of the Arno) ; the advice cf the captain was to lower
¥ii. 120. Fortifications of Lubeok.
it, to form it into a round bastion and to place the outlet on the
flank, as is the custom."
We give (fig. 121) a bird's-eye view of the castle of
Milan, as it was at the beginning of the sixteenth cen-
tury, which will serve to explain the system of defence
and attack of fortified places in the time of Francis I.
220
FORTIFICATIONS OF MILAN.
--.^^]j\y(j^^>^;^ ;;;^<^;5^=^f■ '■'-"
\.,
■Fig. 121. Bird's-eye View of the Castle of Milan.— (See opijosite.)
FORTIFICATIONS OF MILAN. 221
We find herein the old defences mixed up mtli the
new, an incredible confusion of towers and forts iso-
lated by ditches. At A the besieging army had esta;-
blished batteries behind gabions, protected by bastilles,
B) circular redoubts of earth-work occupying the place
of modern places cfarmes^ but commanding the front
works of the besieged. At C we see boulevards flanked
by towers in advance of the gates ; at D curtains without
terraced-work, but crowned with parapets [chemins de
ronde) ; on the ground-floor are placed covered bat-
teries, the embrasures of which are seen throughout, at
the level, E, whilst the upper portions of the walls
appear entirely devoted to the archers, crossbow-men,
and arquebusiers, and still retain their machicolations.
At F is a boulevard surrounding the weakest part of tho
'castle, from which it is separated by a ditch filled with
water. This boulevard is supported on the left, at G,
by a work rather well flanked, and on the right, at H,
by a kind of keep or donjon, defended according to the
ancient system. From these two works the commu-
nications with the body of the place are by means of
drawbridges. The castle is divided into three parts,
separated by ditches, and capable of cutting off their
communications with each other. In advance of the
gate situate in the foreground, at I, and along the
counterscarp of the ditch, a parapet wall is run, with
traverses, to prevent the besiegers from taking the flank,
K, en echarpe, and destroying it. But it is easy to see
that all these works are too small, and do not present
flanks of a sufficient extent ; and that they could be
rapidly overpowered, one after the other, if the besiegers
A A. Batteries of tlieBesiegers. D D. .Curtain Walls. H. Donjon, or Keep.
B B. Bastilles of ditto. E E. Embrasures. 1 1. Parapets.
CC. Boulevards, or Barbicans, F F. Boulevards. K. The Flank,
flanked by Towers. G. Outworks.
222 USE OF THE CAVALIEE.
were in possession of a numerous artillery, the force of
which might be converged upon one point after another,
simply by changing the direction of the fire. And, in
fact, in order to prevent works like these, of too limited
an extent, from being all destroyed at the same time by
a single battery which could be brought to bear on them
from a point sufficiently near, they had already begun to
erect, within the fortifications and in the midst of the
bastions, earthworks of a square or circular form, for the
purpose of commanding the earth bastilles of the besieg-
ing force. This kind of work was frequently employed
in the sixteenth century, and since, and took the name
of cavalier, or platform; it became a resource of great
.utility in the defence of strong places, whether it was of
a permanent nature, or was merely erected during the
course of the siege; enabling the besieged to sweep the
trenches, to take the siege-batteries en echarpe, or to
command a deep breach when the embrasures on the
flanks of the bastions had been destroyed by the enemy's
-fire. As permanent works, platforms were frequently
erected for the purpose of commanding roads, gates, and
, especially bridges, when these latter, on the side oppo-
'.site the town, opened upon the bottom of an escarpment
whereon the enemy could establish batteries to protect
an attack, or to hinder the besieged from establishing
themselves in force at the other side. The bridge at
Marseilles, spanning the ravine which formerly inter-
sected the Aix road, was defended and enfiladed by a
great cavalier, or platform, situate on the town-side
(fig. 122''). When the bastions were too distant one
. from the other to fiank the curtains effectually, platforms
were erected between them in the centre of the curtains,
'' 'Fue de la ville de Marseille. (Topog. de la Gaule, M&ian.)
THE BRIDGE OF MARSEILLES,
223
either semicircular or square in form, to strengthen their
fronts ; and in connection with the bastions themselves
■Fig. 122. Tie-w of the Bridia of Marseilles.
it was usual to erect platforms, in order to give the
bastions a greater commanding force, and to enable
a greater number of pieces to be placed in battery on
a given point. In the white marble bas-reliefs which
'decorate the tomb of Maximilian at Innspruck, we se6
a cavalier, or raised platform, planted on a bastion form<-
ing part of the fortifications of Yerona (fig. 123). The
bastion is well characterized, with its faces and flanks ;
a fausse hraie defends the lower portions of it and com-
mands the ditch. The parapets are faced with earth
and branches ;' behind are gabions to protect the soL
diers; above the gabions, on the terre-plain of the
bastion, rises a platform, or cavalier, built in masonry,
the parapets of which are, in like manner, furnished
with fescines and earth. , — j
224
CAVALIER AT VERONA.
Platforms had tMs further advantage, that they de-
filed the curtains ; which was all the more necessary as
!Fig, 123. Cavalier on a Baation at Verona,
besieging armies still preserved, at the beginning of the
fifteenth century, the traditions of the ofi'ensive bastilles
of the Middle Ages, and fi-equently established their siege-
batteries upon earth- works raised considerably above the
surrounding ground. When the besieging force, either
by means of earth- works, or owing to the configuration
of the ground outside, were able to plant their batteries
upon some elevated point commanding (or level with)
the upper defensive works of the fortifications, and,
.taking them en echarpe or enfilading them, could thus
destroy the uncovered batteries of the besieged, at a
USB OF TRAVERSES.
225
long range and over a wide extent, it was usual from
the date of the sixteenth century to eredt, in default of
platforms, traverses of earth, A (fig. 124), sometimes
Fig. 124. Traverses, A, with Gfabions, B,
furnished with gabions, B, at the moment of the attack,
to increase their height.
But it was not long before the defective nature of
works, which, while they formed considerable salients
from the outer lines, did not connect themselves with
any general system of defence, came to be recognised :
they were not flanked. Obliged to defend themselves
separately, and not being themselves defended, they
merely presented a single point upon which the fire of
the besiegers could be converged, and could only oppose
an almost passive resistance to the cross-fires of the
siege-batteries. By increasing his obstacles, they re-
tarded the works of the enemy, but were impotent to
destroy them ; the bastions or platforms, therefore, were
multiplied ; that is to say, that instead of raising them
only in advance of gates, or, as at Hull, with a special
purpose, they erected them at regular intervals, not only
to keep the approaches at a distance and cover the
ancient fortified fronts, still preserved, from the fire of
226 trSE OF BASTIONS.
the enemy, but also in order to defend these bastions
by means of one another^ In the proces-verlal drawn
up by Machiavelli, and already referred to, on the forti-
fications of riorence, we find the following passages,
having reference to the erection of round bastions in
advance of the ancient fortified fronts : —
" When you go beyond the road of San-Griorgio about one
hundred and fifty hraccia (or about one hundred and thirty
yards), you come upon a re-entering angle, formed by the wall
which at this point alters its direction and turns to the right.
The opinion of the captaia (general) was, that it would be
useful to erect at this point either a casemate or a round bastion
which should command the two flanks ; and you wiU under-
stand that he means by this, to sink ditches wherever there are
walls, because he is of opinion that ditches are the first and the
strongest defences of fortified places. After having advanced
a distance of some one hundred and fifty braccia further, to a
place where there are some buttresses, he was of opinion there
should be another bastion erected here ; and he thought that if
if this were made of sufiicient strength, and sufficiently ad-
vanced, it might render unnecessary the erection of the bastion
of the re-entering angle, already referred to.
" Beyond this point we find a tower, whereof he considers we
should iucrease the extent and diminish the height, arranging
it in such a manner as to be able to work heavy guns upon its
summit ; he thinks it would be useful to do the same with all
the other towers ; he adds that the nearer they are to one an-
other the more they increase the strength of a place, not so
much because they reach the enemy in flank as because they
attack him in front."
In nearly all cases these boulevards, or bastions (for
we may henceforward give them that name), erected
' Defenses de la ville de Blaye, (Topog. de la Gaule, Merian.) The plans of the
towns of Treves, D61e, Saint-Oiner, Douay, &c., (see Les Plans et Frqfils des
princip. Villes, by the Sieur de Beaulieu, 17th century). The plans of the towns of
Bordeaux, Mons, Liege, Coblentz, Bonn, Basle, (see Introd. to Za Fortification of
De Fer, Atlas ttal., 1723.)
FORTIFICATIONS OF NUEEMBERG. 227
precipitately and on the spur of the moment, during a
siege, outside the ancient fronts, were merely earth-
works faced with timber or sods, and not rising above
the crest of the counterscarp of the ditch. But when,
during the' first half of the sixteenth century, the
ancient towers and curtains of masonry were replaced by
new defences, and when it happened that those new
works could be carried out (the necessary funds being
forthcoming) methodically, those works were then re-
vetted with masonry. Up to this period, however, they
did not attempt to extend the works outside the body of
the place, and the attack could always establish itself
opposite the bastions of the fortifications, without being
obliged to take a certain number of outworks, such as
those it is now customary to dispose around the main
walls. In order to oblige the besiegers to commence
their approaches at a sufiicient distance from the glacis,
recourse was had to platforms (or cavaliers) high enough
to command the country, or else to towers so arranged
as to afford a view of the neighbourhood of the fortifica-
tions over the top of the curtains and bastions. It was
according to this method that Albert Durer fortified the
town of Nuremberg. Whilst retaining the ancient de-
fences of the town, which date from the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries, Albert Durer erected outside these
an advanced line of earthwork fortifications, with large
revetted circular bastions, ditches, and glacis, and at
intervals he strengthened the defences of the old walls
by lofty and spacious towers, commanding the two lines
of fortification and the outlying parts. Those large
towers are furnished on the ground-story with one or
two embrasures to enfilade the parapet between the
ancient and the new lines, and have a platform at top
capable of receiving a considerable number of cannon.
q2
228 EORTIPICATIONS OF NTJBEMBEEG.
No fortification of this period shews more forcibly what
occupied the attention of the engineers of the sixteenth
century than those Nuremberg works. Not having as
yet adopted a complete system of flank-works; not
having as yet applied, with all its consequences, the
axiom that that which defends should he defended; uneasy
about the resiilt of their combinations, or rather, we
should say, of their experiments; knowing that the
convergence of an enemy's fire would always destroy
their advanced works, however solidly they might be
built, — they wanted to see and command their external
defences from within the body of the place, as, a century
before, the baron could see from the top of his donjon
whatever was going on round the walls of his castle,
and send up his supports to any point attacked. The
great towers of Nuremberg are more properly, in fact,
detached keeps than portions of a combined system ;
rather observatories than effective defences, even for the
period. The plunging fire from those platforms, placed
at a height of some eighty feet above the level of the
parapets of the town walls, could produce no very great
effect, more especially if the besieging force succeeded
in establishing itself on the crest of the counterscarp of
the ditches, for from that point the swell of the bastions
masked the towers. It does not appear that those lofty
towers were very frequently employed. The attention
of the engineers of the commencement of the sixteenth
century was principally fixed upon the form to be given
to the newly adopted bastions, and to the principles to
be adopted in their construction and defence. While
giving them a height sufficient to command the sur-
rounding parts, and a great diameter as compared with
that of the ancient towers attached to outer embanked
walls ; while strengthening the masonry of them oy
FORTIFICATIONS OF AUGSBURG. 229
buttresses which were covered by the embankments be-
hind ; and while projecting them before the curtains as
much as was possible without detaching them altoge-
ther, — they endeavoured, at first, to protect their an-
terior part from the converging fire of an enemy's bat-
teries. For this purpose they threw up around the
circular bastions, and at their hase, fausses braies, masked
by the counterscarp of the ditch ; and these, to render
them stronger, were sometimes flanked. This already
shewed a marked progress, for circular bastions, like
circular towers, were weak if attacked on the face ; they
could oppose to the converging fire of a breach battery
only one or two pieces of cannon. "We give below an
example of one of those Ranked fausses braies (fig 125"").
" Delia Cosmog. universale, Sebast. Munstero, 1558, small fol. Za citta
d' Augusta (Augsburg), p. 676. The bastion here given is a dependency of a very
important advanced work, which protected an ancient front (of the old walls) built
behind a vfide wet ditch. The curtain, G, is feebly flanked by the bastion, because
it is commanded and enfiladed in its whole length by the old walls of the town ; as
regards the curtain, H, it was flanked by the fausse braie, and by the bastion, E,
prolonged. It was with difficulty the bastion could be attacked behind the flanks
of the fausse braie, at D, and it was impossible to attack it on the side of the
curtain, G, for then the besiegers found themselves taken in reverse by the artillery
pos'^ed on the old ramparts which commanded the flank, I, of the bastion. En-
gineers had alreaiiy begun to apply with some degree of method the principle, that
the parts inside should com/mamd the parts outside, and the assailants having ob-
tained possession of the bastion, found themselves exposed to the fire of a very ex-
tended line of front (see fig. 126). A is the front of the old walls, altered for
cannon ; B, a wide watercourse ; C, a covered way with barrier, embanked against
the advanced work ; D, a small watercourse ; E, traverses ; P, bridges j G, a ram-
part crossing the ditch, but commanded, enfiladed, and taken in reverse by the old
walls. A, of the townj H, the advanced work ; I, a front of old wall, levelled and
rampired ; K, a front also rampired (these two low ramparts are commanded on- all
sides by the walls of the town) j L L are bridges, M is the wet ditch, N the bas-
tions in earth, timber, and wattles, one of which is detailed in fig. 135 ; the
remains of the old embanked defences ; P the covered ways of the advanced work.
(See the general plan of the town of Augsburg, which shews a series of bastions
constructed according to this system (fig, 127). — Introd. to La Fortification,
dedi^e d Monsiegneur le due de Bourgogne, Paris, 1722, fol. Ital.) This plan,
*hich is more accurate than that given in the work of SSb. Munstero, diflers, as
regards the advanced work, H, in some important particulars. We think it worth
while to give them both, especially as the principle of defence obtained by the
230
FORTIFICATIONS OF ATTGSBTIEG.
When the besiegers had destroyed the battery esta-
blished at A and completed their approaches, having
I'iJ. 125. Vie-w of one of the Bastions of Augsburg.
A. The Battery,
B. The Glacis.
C C. Covered Way.
D. Fansse Braie. G H. Curtains.
£, Prolongation of Bastion, L Flank of the Bastion,
gained the top of the glacis at B, they had to drive back
the defenders of the covered way, who were protected
by an embankment and a palisade ; if they succeeded in
addition of the bastions of the sixteenth century is preserved in both plans. We
can still trace at Augsburg the lines of those bastions, the fansses braies of which,
in masonry, have been enclosed within an external sodded embankment.
FOUTIFICATIONS of AUGSBtrRG.
23]
reaching the ditch, they -were received by the horizontal
and cross-fire of two pieces placed in the flanks of this
Fig. lae. Plan oi Bastions at Aagsburg.
A. lYontofoldWall.
B. Wide Watercourse.
C C. Covered Way.
D. Small Watercourse.
E. Traverse.
FF. Bridges.
G. Eampart across Ditch.
H. Advanced Work,
IK Fronts of old Wall witli
Ramparts.
LL. Bridges.
M. The wet Ditch.
N N. Bastions,
O, Remains of old Defences.
P, Covered Way of the Ad-
vanced Work.
lower work (which was preserved until the moment of
attack by the fausse braie at C) , and by the musketry of
the defenders of the counterscarp of the ditch. To fill the
ditch under the cross-fire of those two pieces was an opera-
tion attended with great danger ; it then became neces-
sary to destroy the fausse braie and its flanks by cannon.
If the assailants wanted to turn the flanks and take the-
fausse braie at D by escalade, they were received by the
masked pieces of the second flank, E. Finally, having
232 FORTIFICATIONS OF AtrGSBURG;
overcome all those obstacles and carried the bastion, the
assailants found still before them the old defences, ¥,
which had been preserved and raised upon; the lower
portions of which, masked by the elevation of the bastion,
could be furnished with artillery or arquebusiers. The
artillery, also, intended to command the curtains when
Fig. 27, Ground-plan of tlie Fortifications of Augs'burg.
these latter were destroyed and the assailants attempted
the passage of the ditch to mount the breach, were
masked. In order to obtain this result, the engineers of
the sixteenth century gave, as we have already ex-
plained, a great projection to their round bastions from
the face of the curtains, in such a manner as to form a
re-entering angle which was pierced with embrasures for
cannon (fig, 128°). But more space was required in
" Delia Cosmog. universale, Sebast. Munstero, 1558, small folio. Sito e fig. di
Francqfordia citti, come e nelV anno 1546. The bastion drawn in this view com-
mands the river (the Maine) and one entire front of the ramparts of the city. This
fortified angle is very interesting as a study, and the engraving which we have
Pig. 128. A. The Re-entering Angle, with a Casemated Battery. B. Masking Wall.
CC. Vent-holos. D. The Rampart.
FEANKFOET-ON-THE-MAINE,
^33
rig. 1S8. Vie-w of part of the Fortifications of Frankfort-on-the-Mamo.
234
FRANKPOET-ON-THE-MAINE.
the gorges, A (fig. 129), for the service of the artillery ;
their narrowness rendered them difficult of defence when
the enemy, after having seized upon the bastion, at-
tempted to push forward. We have seen how difficult
it was, before the invention of
cannon, to oppose to an assaulting
column, narrow but deep, precipi-
tated upon the parapets, a defensive
front sufficiently solid to drive the
assailants back (fig. 21) ; and when
artillery opened large practicable
breaches in the bastions or curtains,
owing to the falling in of the earth-
works, the assaulting columns could
thenceforward be not only deep,
Fig. 129. Han of one of the but also prcscut a large front : it
Bastions.
thus became necessary to oppose
copied, with snch emendations as were required to render it clear, indicates tlie
various modifications and improvements which had heen introduced into the defence
of strong places at the heginning of the sixteenth century. In the centre of the
new bastion the ancient angle tower ifowr Sm coin) has been preserved, and serves
as a watch-tower ; this tower has evidently had the top story added in the sixteenth
century. The bastion is armed with two heights of batteries, the lower of which is
covered and masked by the counterscarp of the ditch, made in the manner of a wall
of countergnard. This covered battery could not be used until the moment when
the assailants had attained the ditch. The re-entering angle. A, which contains a
casemated battery, is protected by the projection of the bastion and by a wall, B,
and commands the river. Vent-holes, C, allow the smoke from the batteries to
escape. Beyond the drawbridge is a rampart erected in advance of the old walls,
and commanded by them and the towers j it is guarded by a fausse-braie intended
to protect the passage of the ditch. Arched buttresses are visible at intervals,
which abut at one side against the revetted wall of the rampart and slope to the
faussc braie ; this latter is enfiladed by the fire of the angle-bastion, and by a re-
entering angle of the rampart, D. Were it not for its narrow limits, this defence
might still be considered as of considerable strength. We have thought it right to
admit various examples which do not belong to the military architecture of Prance j
for it must be admitted that at the time of the transition from the ancient to the
modern system of fortification, the several Western nations of Europe rapidly
adopted the new improvements introduced into the art of defending strong places,
and that local traditions were forgotten when necessity had become the teacher.
THE ORILLON.
^35
to them a front of defenders at least equally great, to
prevent the latter from being outflanked. The narrow
gorges of the ancient circular bastions, although well
closed with ramparts internally, were easily carried by
assaulting columns, the impulsive force of which is
always very powerful. The grave defects attendant upon
narrow gorges was soon perceived, and in place of re-
taining the circular form in bastions, they were given
(fig. 130) a straight face, B, and two cylindrical ends, 0,
Fig. 130. View of an Oiillon, or Oblong Bastion.
B. Straight face of Wall. C C. Rounded ends.
which were called orillons". Those bastions enfiladed
the ditches by means of masked pieces placed behind the
° The walls of the city of Narbonne, almost wholly rebuilt during the sixteenth
century, and some ancient works in the fortifications of Rouen, Caen, &c., offered
examples of defences constructed upon this principle.
236 THE" oeillon;
orillona ; but they only defended tKemselves on the face,
they afforded no resistance to an oblique fire, and, above
all, could not protect one another; their fire, in fact,
could not reach a breach battery (fig. 131) fixed at A,
which would be exposed merely to the fire of the curtain.
The attention of engineers was still so much directed to
PCS/iRI) SC
Fig. 131. Plan of Orillons.
A. Breaching Battery. B. Battery.
E E. Side Batteries.
C D. Straight Fronts.
G. Breach.
the system of close defence, and they were so anxious to
give to each part of a fortification an individual stength
of its own (a principle inherited from the feudal military
architecture of the Middle Ages, where each work, as we
have proved, defended itself on its own account, as an
isolated fort), that they looked upon the straight fronts,
G D, intended for the destruction of the batteries placed
at B, as necessary; reserving the fire at E, enfilading
the curtains, merely for the moment when the enemy
THE ITALIAN ENGINEERS. 237
attempted the passage of the ditch, and made their as-
sault at the breach effected at G. This last vestige of
medieval tradition was not long in disappearing; and,
from the date of the middle of the sixteenth century, a
form was definitely adopted in bastions, which conferred
on the fortification of strong places a force equal to the
attack, up to the moment when siege artillery acquired
an irresistible superiority.
It would appear that the Italian engineers, who at the
close of the fifteenth century were so backward in the
art of fortification, according to the evidence of Machi-
avelli, had acquired a certain superiority over those of
France, resulting from the wars of the last years of that,
and the beginning of the sixteenth, century. Between
the years 1525 and 1530, San Michele fortified a portion
of the city of Verona, and had already given to his bas-
tions a form which was not adopted in France before the
middle of the sixteenth century. There exists, however,
a plan (in manuscript upon vellum) of the town of
Troyes, preserved amongst the archives of that town,
which indicates in the clearest manner large bastions
with orillons, and faces forming an obtuse angle; and
this plan cannot be of a later date than 1530, since it
was made at the time when Francis I. had the fortifi-
cations of Troyes repaired, in 1524. Subjoined (fig. 132)
is a fac-simile of one of the bastions shewn on this plan ■".
However this may be, the French engineers of the latter
f The ditch is a wet one. At A are shewn small masked batteries in two
heights, held in reserve pi-ohably behind the covered flanks, B, constructed in rear
of the orillons. Batteries, B, eufilad.^ the front of the ancient towers, which were
retained. It will be observed that the masonry which revetts the bastion is
thickest at the point and diminishes towards the orillons, that being a place where
no breach could be effected ; buttresses are placed as a stay to all the revettments,
underneath the earth-worka. This bastion is called Boulevard de la parte
Saint-Jacques.
238
IMPEOVED BASTIONS.
VILLE
Fig. 132. Plan of one of the Bastions of Troyes.
A A. Small Masked Batteries. B B. Advanced Batteries.
half of tlie sixteentli century, abandoning the system of
flat bastions, constructed them henceforward with two
A. Obtuse Angle.
Fig. 133. Plans of Bastiona
B. Acute Angle, C C. Casemated Batteries.
faces forming an obtuse angle, A (fig. 133), or forming
BASTIONS ATTACKED.
239
Fig. 134. "View of iiastions attacked.
B. Breaching Battery. C. Inner Rampart,
240 BASTIONS ATTACKED.
a right angle or an acute angle, B (fig. 133), in order
to command the surrounding parts by cross-fires ; keep-
ing in reserve casemated batteries at C (sometimes these
were in two heights), protected from the fire of the be-
siegers by the orillons, for the purpose of taking an
assaulting column in flank, and almost in reverse, when
the latter threw themselves into the breach. In the
illustration we append (fig. 134), where this action is
represented, it is easy to see the utility of flanks masked
by orillons ; one of the faces of the bastion. A, has been
destroyed to allow of the establishment of the breach
battery at B; but the pieces which arm the covered
flanks of this bastion remain still intact, and can very
materially damage the troops brought up to the assault,
and throw them into disorder at the moment of their
crossing the ditch, if, at the top of the breach, the
attacking column are arrested in their progress by an
internal rampart, C, thrown up in the rear of the cur-
tain from one shoulder of the bastion to the other, and
if this rampart is flanked by pieces of artillery. We
have also shewn the bastion with a work thrown up
across the gorge, the besieged foreseeing that they should
not be able to defend it for any length of time. Instead
of throwing up works across the gorges of bastions hur-
riedly, and often with insufficient means, the plan was
adopted, from the close of the sixteenth century, of exe-
cuting these works, in certain cases, in a permanent
manner (fig. 135'), or of detaching the bastions by
1 Belle Fortif., di Giov. Scala, al christ". re di Francia ed i Navarra, Henrico IV.,
Eoma, 1596. The figure here produced is entitled, "Piatta forma fortissima
difesa e sicura con una gagliarda retirata dietro o attorno della gola." A, a ram-
part (says the legend) 50 ft. in thickness, of rear defence ; B, a parupet 15 ft. thick
and 4 ft. high ; C, escarpment of the retirade, 14 ft. high ; D, a space filled up
solid, and slightly inclined towards tlie point G ; H, flank-work, masked by the
shoulder I ; K, a parapet 24 ft. thick, raised 48 ft. above the ditch. (Scala here
refers to the Roman foot=11.72 inches Engl.)
A BASTION ISOLATED.
241
sinking a ditch behind the gorge, leaving no commu-
nication with the body of the place, except by means of
_,^o" Koman feet.
..{7.-
Seotton on the line L M.
M
Fi^. 135. Bastion isolated, "with Inner Kampart.
A. Inner Bampart.
B. Parapet.
C. Escarpment.
D. Sloping Surface.
G. Lowest Point.
H. Flanking Battel^.
1 1. Masking Shoulders.
K. Parapet.
L M. Line of the Section.
drawbridges, or very narrow passages which could be
easily barricaded (fig. 136'). By this means the taking
of a bastion did not necessarily involve the immediate
surrender of the body of the place ; for it may readily
be concluded that the besieging force endeavoured to
' Delle Fortif., plate entitled " D'un buon modo da fabricare una piatta forma
gagliarda et sicura, quantunque la sia disnnita della cortina." X the legend
describes as a rampart behind the curtain ; C, a bridge which communicates from
the city to the platform (bastion); D, solid earth-work; E, shoulders of the bas-
tion ; I, flanks to be made low enough to be covered by the shoulders E.
Scala gives, in his Treatise on fortifications, a large number of plans for bastions,
some of thom remarkable for the period.
E
242
bied's-ete view oe a bastion.
eflfeet a breach in tlie bastions rather than in the cur-
tains, to avoid the direct effect of the masked batteries
CiJiiPF. SUI^ . Ail
Fig, 136. Bird'a-eye View oi a Bastion.
A B. Line of the Section.
B. Parapet.
C. Bridge.
D. Solid Earth-works.
EE. Shoulders.
I K. Flanking Batteries.
X. Rampart
Bastion.
behind the
at the moment of assault. Seeing that the besiegers
preferred to attack the bastions, with a view to breach-
ing them and there making their assault, the engineers
of the sixteenth century disposed the batteries masked
by orillons in such a manner as to enfilade not only the
curtain, but likewise the faces of the adjoining bastions.
Thus, an assaulting column, whether it was thrown upon
a bastion or on a curtain where a breach had been ef-
fected, was always met by a cross-fire ; unless, indeed.
USE OF RAVELINS. 343
the batteries masked behind the orillons had been
sUenced, previously to the assault, by ricochet shots
or bombs.
How ingenious soever the expedients employed for
defending the salient portions of the fortifications, and
for cutting off their communication with the body of the
place, might have been, no long time elapsed before it
was discovered that these expedients had the defect of
dividing the works, and of taking away the means of
sending, with ease and rapidity, support to all the salient
points of the defence, and that the advantages which
resulted from their isolation were far from compensating
for the dangers which this condition brought with it ; so
true is it that the simplest formulas are those which are
the last to be adopted. The bastions, therefore, were
left open at the gorge, but there were established be-
tween them, to protect their faces and in advance of the
curtains, detached works which became of great utility
in the defence, and which were frequently employed to
hinder the approaches before feeble fronts or old walls ;
to these were given the names of ravelins or demi-lunes^
when these works merely assumed the form of a small
bastion, and of ienailles where two of those works were
connected by a front. A (fig. 137) is a ravelin, and
B a tenaille. Those works were already in use at the
close of the sixteenth century, during the wars of reli-
gion; their slight elevation rendered it difficult to de-
stroy them, while their horizontal fire produced a great
effect.
It was also in the course of the sixteenth century that
a decided batter was given to the revettments of the
bastions and curtains, in order to neutralize the effect of
the balls, which latter exerted, naturally, less action
upon the wall-faces when they did not strike them at
k2
244
PLANS OF RAYELINS.
right angles. Before the invention of ordnance a slope
was given only to the base of the revettments, in order
JTi^. 137. Plans of a Ravelin, A, and two Tenailles, B.
to keep the assailants at some distance from the walls,
and to place them vertically under the machicolation of
the hoards ; whilst, on the contrary, it was thought ini-
portant to keep the walls vertical, to render it more
difficult to scale them.
One very important detail appertaining to the defence
of strong places must necessarily have engaged the
attention of the constructors of fortresses when the use
of cannon became general; we allude to embrasures.
"We have already seen how, in the fifteenth century,
engineers had sought to mask the pieces placed in the
IMPROVEMENTS IN EMBRASURES. 245
interior of their defences as much as possible by various
combinations more or less happy. The first embrasures,
those given by us (figs. 89 and 98), had the defect of
leaving the gunners so narrow a field that they could
only point their pieces in a single direction ; those of the
castle of Schaffhausen (fig. 103), although offering a
somewhat more extensive range of fire, must have been
easily destroyed by the enemy's balls ; the insignificant
obstacles opposed to the artillery of the besiegers being
only calculated to protect the gunners against musketry.
Albert Durer had, so early as the first years of the six-
teenth century, adopted a form of embrasure which, for
uncovered batteries, offered signal advantages over the
modes then commonly received. Those embrasures, as
applied to the barbette batteries of the bastions and
curtains of the city of Nuremberg, and which any one
may still see there, are reproduced with their necessary
accessories in his work^ We subjoin (fig. 138) the
plan and (fig. 139) the section of one of them. The
parapet, of a thickness varying from three to four yards,
presents, in section, a curve intended to throw upwards
the enemy's projectiles. A mantelet of stout wooden
planks, revolving upon a horizontal axis, and forming an
angle with the horizon, which was only elevated suffi-
ciently to afford a passage for the muzzle of the gun and
allow the piece to be pointed, offered no resistance to the
balls of the besiegers, and sent them ricochetting over
. the heads of the gunners. This system does not appear
to have been adopted in France, where the parapets
from an early period had been covered with earth and
grass, having embrasures furnished with fascines while
« " Alb. Dureri pictoris et architecti prsestantiss. de urb.arcibus, casteliisque con-
dendis ac mnniendia, rationes aliquot, praesenli bellorum iiecess. accomm. : nunc
receuB h ling. German, in Latinam traductaj." (Parisiis . . . 1535.)
246
EMBEASTJRES AT NUREMBERG.
the siege lasted. Besides the example already given,
the parapets of the curtains and bastions of the city of
fig. 139. Plan of an EmTDrasure at NuremlDerg.
S\ psettta
Fig. 139. Section oi the same.
Nuremberg, erected by Albert Durer, present, through-
out a large portion of their extent, and principally on
the side where the fortifications are accessible, a remark-
able arrangement which we here (fig. 140) reproduce.
These parapets, pierced with embrasures for cannon, are
surmounted by timber hoards (hourdes), or fi.lled in with
brick and mortar, like the old English half-timbered
HOARDING AT NUREMBERG.
247
houses : in those hoards, arquebusiers and even archers
(who were still employed at this period) might be placed.
Fi|. 140. View of the Parapet at Nuremberg, with the Hoarding.
Pieces in battery were covered by these hoards, just in
the same way as pieces in the 'tween-decks of a man-
of-war, as is shewn by the section given with the ex-
ternal view of the parapets. The crenelles of the hoards
were closed by shutters opening on the inside, in such a
way as to present an obstacle to the balls or arrows fired
by the assailants placed on the top of the glacis.
We have sometimes seen in France the embrasures of
uncovered batteries presenting externally a series of
broken faces intended to stop the balls and bullets of the
enemy (fig. 141), and to hinder them from sliding, as
they would, along an unbroken splay to the mouth of
the cannon. The embrasures of covered batteries, how-
ever, long retained their original form, that is to say,
they consisted only of a round or oval aperture and a
248 IMPROVED EMBRASURES;
sight-hole, nor was it until the close of the sixteenth
century that they were made to widen backward from
Fi^. 141. EmlDrasure -with Redents.
beneath an arch (fig. 142). Our artillery-men soon re-
marked that the narrow part of the embrasure ought not
.k'' 3 ■■
Fig. 142. Plan and View of an Embrasure. Fig. 143. Plan of anotnei'EmbTasure.
to reach to the middle of the thickness of the walls of
casemates, for these walls being from six to seven yards
thick, the narrow part of the embrasure, which lay be-
yond the mouth of the cannon, was soon shattered by
the wind of the piece ; they therefore gave the embra-
CRENELLES WITH SHUTTERS.
249
sures of casemated batteries the form in plan represented
by the figure 143.
In crenelles and loop-holes the original forms were
long retained; but for arrow-loops {archeres) simple
conical holes, with or without sights over them, were
frequently substituted'. The crenelles of the covered-
ways were furnished with hanging shutters, having a
hole pierced in them, and adapted either to the fire of
small pieces or of arquebuses, as indicated by the ex-
ample which we subjoin (fig. 144), copied from the crest-
Fig. 144. Covered--way, with Crenelles, Loopholes and Shutters.
works of the curtains at Nuremberg (fifteenth century).
Sometimes embrasures for cannon were accompanied by
loop-holes, lateral and descending, for musketry, arranged
as in the figure (fig. 145 '').
Occasionally, also, certain embrasures were constructed
to receive either small pieces of ordnance, such as fal-
conels, or those large rampart arquebuses which may
still be seen in the French and German museums, and
' The name of crenelle is at present given to the small embrasures pierced in
parapets for musketry, and similar enough in form to the ancient arrow-bops ;
whilst anciently, the name of crenelle (or crSneau) was given to the square open
space left between the two merlons of a parapet.
" Bastions of the city of Nuremberg of the dose of the fifteenth century.
25°
EMBRASURE WITK LOOPHOLES.
of which there is a great number in the arsenal at Basle.
As an example of these latter embrasures we may give
/jsMBMmM&.i,
Eig. 145. Elevation, Section, and Plan of an Embrasure, with Lcopholea
for Musketry.
those of the advanced work of the Laufer gate, at
Nuremberg, which are very curious and worth studying.
This outwork, perfectly intact, and which has preserved
the greater part of its accessories of defence, dates from
the middle of the fifteenth century. The void of the
embrasures (fig. 146) is a vertical oblong in form, and
facilitates therefore the plunging fire of the pieces, com-
manding the bottom of the ditch as well as the glacis.
This void, or crenelle, is furnished with a stout wooden
cylinder placed upright with hoops and pivots of iron.
The cylinder is pierced from side to side for a portion of
EMBRASURE AT NUREMBERG.
251
yig. 146. Bm'bTasuTe of the LauTer Gate at Nuiemterg.
A. Plan. B. Internal Elevation. C. Plan of Loophole, with Turning-post
D. Form of the Turning-post.
its height by an oblong aperture about 41 inches wide
by 9| inches high, which is just enough to allow of the
252 EMBRASURES AT BASLE.
passage of th.e ball of the rampart pieces. When the
piece was discharged, by turning the cylinder on its
axis, the men placed in the embrasure were completely
masked. A shews the general plan of the embrasure,
B its internal elevation, C the plan and elevation of the
crenelle with the revolving cylinder, and D the geo-
metrical form of the cylinder with its dimensions (in
parts of the French centimetre). The advanced- work of
one of the gates of the city of Basle still retains its cren-
elles (or loops) thus furnished with wooden cylinders,
longitudinally pierced, for passing the muzzles of hand-
arquebuses through.
But it must be admitted that, in the presence of
artillery, all those defensive expedients must have soon
appeared insufficient, and rather an incumbrance than of
any real service r neglecting therefore such precautions
in fortresses, too convinced perhaps of their little utility,
engineers contented themselves with embrasures of the
simplest form, such as is shewn (fig. 143), consisting of
an open crenelle forming an angle more or less acute,
leaving barely space enough for the passage of the piece ;
and it was only when the siege took place that pre-
servative means were taken to protect those placed in
the casemates and uncovered batteries. After having
attached too great an importance to those details of de-
fence, when the use of ordnance had been the means of
radically altering the art of medieval fortification, it may
be that their importance has been under- estimated since
the seventeenth century. It is certain that, against the
shock of artillery, it is useless to think of opposing any
obstacles but those which shall be at once of great
power, and yet simple enough not to retard the service
of the guns while admitting of their being promptly and
easily replaced.
COMPLICATED DEFENCES, 253
From the moment when bastions assumed definitely a
new form, the system of attack, as well as the system of
defence, became completely changed. The approaches
had to be skilfully planned, for otherwise the cross-fire
of the faces of bastions enfiladed the trenches and took
the siege-batteries obliquely. The trenches had to be
commenced at a great distance from the body of the
place ; distant batteries had to be established, to destroy
the parapets of bastions whose fire might annihilate the
works of the sappers; in order thus by degrees, and
imder cover of the works thrown up, to arrive at the
back of the ditch, whilst at intervals places d^ amies pro-
tected the batteries and trenches against night sorties
by the besieged ; until, finally, the last battery was esta-
blished to effect a breach. It is needless to say that
even previously to the time when the art of fortification
had become subject to regular formulas, before the times
of such men as Errard de Bar-le-Duc, Antoine Deville,
Pagan and Vauban, engineers had been driven to aban-
don the last traditions of the Middle Ages. But starting
with the rule, that whatever defends ought to he defended,
impediments were so multiplied, so many separate works
and commanding positions were established, the defences
were encumbered with so many details, and such care
was taken to detach them one from the other, that they
became for the most part useless and even hurtful when
the siege took place; and the garrison, ever sure of
finding a second line of defence when the first was
destroyed, and a third after the second, defended them-
selves feebly in one after the other, always trusting to
the last to make a stand.
Machiavelli, with the practical sense which is his cha-
racteristic, had always foreseen in his day the danger
of those complications in the construction of works of
254 ADYICE OF MACHIAVELLI.
defence ; for in Lis " Treatise on tlie Art of War,"
book vii., he says, —
" And here I ought to give an advice : Istly, to those who
have the charge of defending a city, namely, never to erect
bastions detached from the walls ; 2ndly, to those who are con-
structing a fortress, and that is, not to establish within its
circuit fortifications which may serve as a retreat to troops who
have been driven back from the first line of entrenchments.
The reason for my first advice is this : we should always avoid
a failure at the beginning, for we thus beget a distrust of all our
future plans, and fill those who have embraced our cause with
apprehension. You will not be able to provide against these
mishaps by erecting bastions beyond the walls. As they will
be constantly exposed to the whole fury of the artillery, and
as at the present day such fortifications cannot be defended
for any length of time, you will end by losing them, and
wUl thus have prepared the cause of your ruin. When the
Grenoese revolted against Louis XII., king of France, they built
in this manner some bastions on the surrounding hills ; and the
taking of those bastions, which were carried in a few days,
brought with it the loss of the city. As regards my second
proposition, I maintain that there is no greater danger for a
fortress than rear-fortifications whither troops can retire in case
of a reverse ; for once the soldier knows that he has a secure
retreat after he has abandoned the first post, he does in fact
abandon it, and so causes the loss of the entire fortress. "We
have a very recent example of this in the taking of the fortress
of Forli, defended by the Countess Catherine against Caesar
Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI., who came to attack it with
the army of the King of France. This place was full of forti-
fications where retreat after retreat might be secured. There
was, first of all, the citadel, separated from the fortress by a
ditch which was crossed by means of a drawbridge, and this
fortress was divided into three quarters, each separated from the
other by ditches filled with water, and drawbridges. Borgia,
having attacked one of those quarters with his artillerj^ effected
a breach in the wall, which breach M. de Casal, Commandant of
Forli, did not attempt to defend. He thought he might abandon
EFFECTS OF ARTILLERY.
^5S
this breach and retire upon the other quarters; but Borgia,
once master of this portion of the fortress, was soon the master of
the whole, because he seized upon the bridges which separated
the different quarters. Thus was taken a place which was then
considered almost impregnable, and the loss of which was due
to two principal errors on the part of the engineer who had
constructed it : Istly, he had too much multiplied the defences ;
2ndly, he had not left to each quarter the command of its own
bridges ^."
Artillery had changed the moral conditions of the
defence quite as much as the material conditions : just
as it was good, in the thirteenth century, to multiply
impediments, to erect fort after fort, to break up the
defences, because both attack and defence were made
foot by foot and hand to hand; just in the same way
was it dangerous, when the powerfully destructive effects
of artillery had been brought to bear, to interrupt the
communications, to encumber the defences ; for the
cannon destroyed those complicated works or rendered
them useless, and burying the defenders beneath their
ruins, demoralized the defending force, and deprived it
of the means of united action.
It had been ascertained already, in the system of
fortification prevailing before the introduction of ord-
nance, that the extreme sub-division of the defences
rendered the task of command a difficult one for the
commandant of a fortress, or even for the captain of a
post; in detached works, such as towers, donjons, or
gate-houses, the necessity had been felt, as early as the
eleventh and twelfth centuries, of opening conduits or
traps in the walls or through the vaulting, to serve as
speaking tubes by which the commanding officer of the
» Complete Works of N. Machiavelli. See the castle of Milan (fig. 121), which
offers examples of all the faults pointed out hy Machiavelli.
2, 5 6 EPPECTS OP ARTILLERY.
post, wMle placed at the most favourable point for ob-
taining a view of the operations on the outside, could
transmit his orders to each story and portion of the
works. But when the roar of artillery came to be super-
added to these material difficulties, it will readily be
understood that those means became altogether insuffi-
cient ; the use of cannon, therefore, necessarily induced
in the construction of fortifications a greater breadth of
arrangement, obliging both the besieged and besieging
forces to abandon altogether a war of details.
The method which consisted in fortifying strong places
outside the line of the old walls had its inconveniences :
the besieging force were able to operate at one and the
same time against the two lines, the second being higher
than the first ; they thus destroyed the two defences, or
at least, overthrowing the first, they dismantled the
second, shattered its merlons into fragments, and dis-
mounted simultaneously the lower and the upper bat-
teries (see fig. 116). If they succeeded in carrying the
front line of defences, they might still be stopped for
some little time by the escarpment of the old wall ; but
this latter, being deprived of its barbette batteries, be-
came no more than a passive defence which could be
blown up without danger, or without requiring the
assailants to cover themselves. For this reason Machi-
avelli had already in his day recommended that perma-
nent ramparts,- with a ditch, should be erected in the
rear of the old walls of cities. Allowing, therefore, the
ancient walls to remain as a first obstacle to resist a
eoup-de-main^ or to arrest the progress of the enemy for
some little time, and abandoning the use of external
boulevards and of salient works which were exposed to
the converging fire of the siege-batteries and were soon
destroyed, the constructors of fortifications erected — in
FOETIFICATIONS OP METZ. 257
the rear of the ancient lines, which, from their weakness,
would naturally be selected by the enemy for their point
of attack — bastioned ramparts, forming a permanent
work, analogous to tbe temporary one which we have
shewn at fig. 109. It was upon this principle that a
portion of the city of Metz had been fortified (after the
raising of the siege undertaken by the imperial army,
towards the close of the sixteenth century), on the side
of the Sainte-Barbe gate (fig. 147 ^). Here the ancient
walls, A, with their lists, are left just as they were ;
barbette batteries only being established in the ancient
lists, B. The enemy, having made a breach in the front,
C D, which was actually the weakest inasmuch as it was
not flanked, and having crossed the ditch and arrived at
the place-d'armes, E, was exposed to the fire of the half-
bastions, F G, and to both a front and cross-fire. From
the outside, this rampart, being lower than the old wall,
remained masked, intact; its flanks with orillons con-
tained a covered and uncovered battery, enfilading the
ditch.
The great merit of the engineers of the seventeenth
century, qnd of Vauban especially, consists in their
having arranged the defences in such a manner as to
converge upon the first front attacked and destroyed by
the enemy the fire of a great number of pieces of artil-
lery, and thus to change, at the moment the assault took
place, the relations between the besieging and besieged
armies ; and in their having simplified the art of forti-
fication and done away with a vast number of detached
works and details of defence, which are very ingenious
on paper, but which are only impediments during a
siege, and impediments of a very costly kind. It was
' Topog. de la Gaule, Merian ; Topog. de la I^ance, Bibl. Imp.
S
258
FORTIFICATIONS OP METZ.
Fig. 147. Bird's-eye View of part of the City of Metz.
A. Ancient Walls. B B. The Lists. C D. Front of old Walls.
E. Placc-d'Armes. FG. Half-bastions.
thus that, by degrees, the superficies of bastions was
.enlarged; that orillons of small diameter which, de-
stroyed by the artillery of the besieging force, rendered
MINES AND COUNTERMINES. 2,59
useless the pieces intended to enfilade the ditches at the
moment the assault was delivered, were done away
with ; that the greatest possible attention was bestowed
on the profiles (or sections), these being one of the most
powerful means of retarding the progress of the ap-
proaches; that the glacis was thrown up in advance of
ditches, to mask the revetment of the bastions and cur-
tains ; that a considerable width was given to the ditches
in front of the fausses Iraies ; that stone revetments for
parapets were replaced by embankments of sodded earth,
and that the gateways and gate-houses were masked,
defended by advanced works, and flanked, instead of
allowing their strength to consist in themselves alone.
A new means of rapidly destroying ramparts was ap-
plied at the beginning of the sixteenth century : after
having undermined the revetments of the defences, as
had been practised from time immemorial, instead of
underpinning them with shores which were then set fire
to, pockets {fourneaux) were made, and charged with
gunpowder, and considerable portions of the earth- works .
and revetments were thus blown up. This terrible ex-
pedient, which had already been employed in the Italian
wars, besides opening large breaches for the assailants, had
also the effect of demoralising the garrison. Means were
soon taken, however, to neutralize those works of the
besiegers. In fortifications where the ditches were dry,
behind the revetments of the ramparts were run vaulted
galleries, which allowed the garrison to resist the con-
struction of those fourneaux de mine (fig. 148 "} ; or, at
intervals along the solid earth-works of the parapets,
permanent wells were sunk, in order therefrom to push
forward counter-mine galleries while the siege was going
^ Bella Fortif. della Citta di M. Girol. Maggi, e del cap. Jacom. Castriotto,
ingeniero del christ". re di Francia, 1553.
s 2
a,6o
COUNTERMINES.
on, and after the engineers of the besieged had suc-
ceeded in a:scertaining the direction of the galleries of
Fig. 143. Plan of Vaoited Gallery.
the enemy's mines ; which direction could be made out
by carefully observing, at the bottom, of those wells, the
noise made by the sap. Occasionally, also, counter-
mine galleries were run under the covered-way or be-
neath the glacis ; but it does not appear that these latter
means were applied in any regular manner until the
adoption of the system of modern fortification.
It was only by slow degrees, aad as the result of
numberless experiments, that scientific formulas could
be arrived at in the construction of defensive works.
During the course of the sixteenth century we find the
germs of almost all the systems subsequently adopted,
but there is no general method, no unity of plan ; the
monarchical power, which is one in its essence, could
alone lead to any definite result : and it is interesting to
BASTIONS ACCOEDING TO DE VILLE, 2,6 1
observe how the art of fortification, as applied to artil-
lery, follows step by step the preponderance of the royal
over tbe feudal power. It is not until the commence-
ment of the seventeenth century, after the religious wars
under Henry IV. and Louis XIII., that the works con-
nected with the fortification of strong-places are planned
after certain fixed rules, based upon a long course of
observation; and that the last remains of the ancient
traditions are abandoned, and formulas adopted, esta-
blished upon the new bases of calculation. Thencefor-
ward it became the unceasing endeavour of all engineers
to find a solution for the problem, To see the besieging force
without heing seen, while obtaining a cross and defile fire.
The exact solution of this problem would render a forti-
fication perfect and impregnable; but that solution, in
our opinion at least, has yet to be discovered.
We should not be able, without entering into long
details which do not come within the limits of our sub-
ject, to describe the various experimental efi'orts made
since the beginning of the sixteenth century to raise the
art of fortification up to the point at which Vauban has
left it. We shall merely give, in order to furnish some
idea of the new principles upon which modern engineers
were about to establish their systems, the first figure of
the Treatise of the Chevalier De Ville ^
"The hexagon," says that author, "is the first figure that
can he fortified, the bastion remaining at right angles ; which
is the reason of our commencing with it, of which, having given
the method, it may be applied in like manner to all the other
regular figures (fig. 149). Firstly, let a regular figure be con-
structed, that is to say, one having the sides and angles equal,
of as many sides as it is required that the figure shall have
bastions .... In this figure we have drawn one half of the
» Les Fortifications du Chevalier Antoine De VilJe, 1640, chap. vUi.
262
BASTIONS ACCORDING TO DE VILLE.
hexagon, on which having shewn how to make a bastion, the
same can be done with all the other angles. Let it be the angle
^\y Tp
iri^s. 149 and 150. Pian and Section of a Bastion according to De ViLle.
E. H L of the hexagon, on which it is required to make a bas-
tion. Divide one of the sides, H L, into three equal parts, and
each of these parts into two, which are H F, and set off H Q
equal to H F . . . . these are the demi- gorges of the bastions ;
and on the points, F and Q, erect, perpendicularly, the flanks
F E, Q M, equal to the demi-gorges ; from one extremity of the
flank to the other draw the line ME and produce the semi-
diameter S H . . ,, and make I A equal to I E ; then draw
A E, AM, which will form the rectangular bastion Q M A E F,
and will provide as much defence to the curtain as is possible ;
and where the said curtain begins, may be known by producing
the faces A E, A M, until they meet the said curtain at C and
at K ; the line of defence will be A C ... .
" It will be observed that this method will not answer for
places having less than six bastions, because the flanks and
gorges being of the same length, the bastion forms an acute
angle. As for the other parts, make the line of the ditch
V X, X Z, parallel to the face of the bastion, at a distance from
the latter equal to the length of the flank."
De Ville admits the orillons or shoulders to the flanks
of bastions ; but he prefers rectangular to circular oril-
BASTIONS ACCOEDING TO DE VILLE. 263
Ions. He gives with the plan (fig. 149) the profile of
the fortification (fig. 150).
"Draw any line CV," adds De Ville, "and on this take CD,
equal to five paces ; on the point D erect the perpendicular DF,
equal to C D, and draw C F, which will be the slope of the
parapet :%£rom the point F draw FQ-, equal to fifteen paces,
parallel with C V, and on the point Gr raise G- H, equal to one
pace, and draw F H, which will be the plane of the rampart with
its incline towards the body of the place. Make H I four feet,
and Gr L five paces for the thickness of the parapet ; K L must
be drawn vertically, but K should be placed at two paces above
the line C V ; afterwards draw K N, the batter (or talus) of the
parapet, N Y, the parapet- way, shall be about two paces, and M
less than a half-pace in thickness, and its height, M Y, will be
seven or eight feet ; then let M P be drawn perpendicular to
C V, so that it shall be five paces under 0, that is to say, that
depth under the ground-level, and this will be the depth of the
ditch. P Q is the batter or outward slope of the waU, which
should be a pace and a-half, and will be the stringcourse
(cordon), a little over the esplanade : the width of the ditch, Q R,
in large fortifications should be twenty-six paces, and in others
twenty-one paces. Let E.S, the slope of the counterscarp, be
two and a-half paces, and its height, S T, five paces ; the corridor
(covert- way) T V, which should be placed on the line C V, shall
be five to six paces in width, the esplanade (the glacis) shall be
one pace and a-half above the corridor V X, and said esplanade
shall slope down to the country some fifteen or twenty paces . . .
make the profile thereof ... of which there are divers kinds . . . ;
the paces being equal to five pieds de roy."
De Ville recommends fausses hraies in advance of the
ramparts as greatly increasing the strength of forti-
fications, for the reason that, being masked by the pro-
file of the covered- way, they retard the establishment of
breach-batteries and command the points where the
trenches debouch upon the ditch: he considers they
should be made of earth, and in the manner indicated
by the profile at A (fig. 151).
264 SYSTEM OP VATJBAN.
It was then with fortification as with every other
branch of the art of architecture, — formulas had become
I'ig. 151. Section of'Ditoli with False Braie, aooordini to De Ville.
the rage, and each engineer brought forward his own
system : if we have spoken of the Chevalier De Ville, it
is because his methods are practical and the result of
experience. But Vauban discovered that the bastions
constructed by the engineers who had preceded him were
too small, their flanks too short and too weak, the demi-
gorges too narrow, the alignement of the ditches badly
set out, and the covered-ways too limited in width, the
places-d^ armes small and the external works insufficient.
It is to him and to M. de Coehorn that we owe systems
of fortification very far superior to those which had pre-
ceded them. Nevertheless, according to the admission
of those celebrated men themselves, in spite of all their
efforts, the attack was still superior to the defence.
The study of the works executed during many cen-
turies by several generations of men to defend their lives,
their liberty, and their fortunes, is certainly one of the
most attractive that can be pursued ; it is likewise,
perhaps, one of the most useful. This study is con-
nected with the successive developments of the national
civilization and character, and it must be allowed that
no country in Europe presents a more considerable series
of permanent military works than France. We have been
CONCLUSION. 265
able, in a work so limited as this is, merely to give a
very summary idea of a subject so vast, and which wonld
require, on the part of any one desirous of entering into
it fully, an extent of information to which we can lay no
claim. We hope, however, that this Essay may help to
save from destruction some of those precious remains of
our ancient architecture, which have been so intimately
bound up with our existence as a nation; and that it
may perhaps lead to the collection, in a complete work,
of the numerous fragments of military architecture which
cover the soil of France, and which the hands of men
and individual interests, even more than the ravages of
time, are every day destroying. It would be worthy of
an enlightened Government like ours to undertake this
task, far beyond the powers of a single man. In ad-
dition to the archaeological interest which would at-
tach to a work of this importance, it would read us more
than one lesson ; we should therein obtain a knowledge
of the resources of a country which we love, because she
is our own, and, better still, because she has struggled
always after a national unity, and because her energy
has always made her rise superior to her reverses.
INDEX.
(Tlte Asterisks refer to Engravings.)
Agde, walls of the town of, 3.
Aignes-Mortes, towers, 122.
*PlanofthetowD, 123.
*rampavt3, 132, 145.
Aiguillon, the siege of, 155 — 157.
Aix road, the, 222.
Albigenses, 33, 43.
Aleximder VI., Pope, 254.
Alwe, or allwre, the walk behind the
parapet.
*At Carcassonne, 11.
* Plan of, 66.
*At Coucy, 110.
* Plan of, 148.
Andelys (les), 80, 81, 84.
Andely, grand, 84.
Isle of, 92.
Petit, 84, 92, 93.
Anglo-Norman feudalism, 78.
Antoninus, the Column of, 5, 6.
Arlaletriers, the Corporation of, 165,
* Archers and, bowmen, 173 — 175.
Arno, the river, 219.
Arragon, King of, 47.
Arras, bastille of, 217.
Arrow-loops (archies), 249.
Artillery, introduction of, 166.
Early use of, 168.
The English expelled by improvements
in, 169.
Further improvements, 170, 171.
»0f the fifteenth century, 172.
Towers altered to receive, 177.
♦Embrasures for, 181.
Modifications of walls, &c., 182.
*Plans of towers constructed for, 184,
185.
Castles cannot resist, 187.
Modes of defence against, 202—206.
Description of French and English
in the sixteenth century, note, 207-
Increasing power of, 215, 234.
Artillery, irresistible, 237.
♦Improved embrasures for, 248.
Changes the conditions of the defence,
255, 256, 262.
Artillery Museum of Paris, 172.
Aubenton, the town of, 136.
*rhe gate o', 135, 136.
Siege of, 125.
Aude, the river, 46, 47, 49, 51, 52, 54,
58.
Augsburg, * fortifications of, 229—232.
Autun, Roman city of, 15.
Auxerre, Roman city of, 15.
Avaricum (Bourges), 5.
Avignon, *wall3 of, with details, 144 —
150.
*Inside view of towers at, 146.
* Plans of the same, 147.
♦Perspective view of the interior, 149.
♦Palace of the Pope, 150.
Bacon (a brigand), 162.
Barhacane, La, 46.
Sariette battery, or batteries, 184, 186,
199, 257.
*J3arbicans, or outworks, 37, 51, 52, 75,
132.
Bartizan (ecTumguette), a watch-turret,
as at Carcassonne, 55.
Provins, 104.
Schaffhausen, 196.
Basle, or Bale, 217.
♦Wooden cylinders at, 252.
The arsenal of, 171.
Bastille, or bastilles, Roman, 18.
♦Section of, 20, 29, 68, 167* 203, 217,
224.
Bastille of S. Antoine, 75, 76.
Bastions, ♦plans of, 119, 120.
♦At Schaflthausen, 194
♦At Verona, 224.
♦At Augsburg, 230, 231.
268
INDEX.
Sastions at Frankfort- on- the-Maine, 234.
*Plans oF, 238.
*Attackecl, 239.
*At Troyes, 238.
*Isolated, 241.
*Bird's-eye view, 242.
*Plan of, according to Deville, 262.
*At Carcassonne, 66.
With wooden door, 67.
Batteries, 211, 212.
*BaUering-rams, 7, 25, 33, 36, 42, 43,
119, 203, 204, 207.
*BedIc, 'horn, or pointed iastion, 121,
122, 127.
*Plans of, 122.
Eeaucaire, siege of, 26, 43.
Beangency-sur- Loire, 98.
Bernard Hugon de Serre-Longue, 38.
Berniferes, peninsula of, 92.
BSziers, early fortifications of, 3.
Bihl. de V Ecole des Charts, 166.
Bicoque, a, 69.
Blanche, Queen, 37, 38.
Bl.aye, Defenses de la Yille de, 226.
Boccanegra, the Genoese, 145.
Bombard, a great gun, short and thick,
nearly equivalent to the modern
homh, used at the siege of Calais,
158.
Bonaguil, the castle of, 177 — 181.
*Plan of, 178.
*Bird's-eye view, 180.
*Erahrasure, 181.
Bonaparte, L. Napoleon, The Past and
Future of Artillery, 166.
Essay on the Influence of Fire-arms,
201.
BonniSres-on-the-Seine, 81.
Bordeaux, Eoman fortifications of, 15.
Bastille of, 217.
Bosson (langue d'oe), a battering-ram,
25, 27, 33, 43.
Boulevards, or hastions, 214, 215, 226,
227.
De la Porte St. Jaques, 237.
Boulevert iastille, or hasfide, 201.
Boulogne, the gates of, 158.
Bourbon-l'Archamhaut, 77.
Bourgeois, le, 167.
Bonrges, siege of, 5.
Bourgogne, le Due de, 229.
Boussac, town of, 77.
Boutavant, fort of, 84.
Boves, siege of, 34, 35.
Braban9ons, the, 153, 160.
Braie, or external ditch, 201, 202.
*Section of a false braie, 264.
Brattish (breast-work), 40, 45, 58, 125,
128, 130, 131, 137, 138.
Bridge of boats, with turrets on it, 92.
■Brittany, h6tel of the Dukes of, 73.
Bureau, the brothers, 166, 168.
Cables used by the Romans to form
mats for defence of walls, 19.
Caen, siege of, 167 ; orillons at, 235.
Csesar, the time of, 4, 5, 18, 22, 33.
Caesar's Commentaries, 4.
Cffisar Borgia, 254.
Cahors, Eoman fortifications of, 15.
Calabres, battering machines, 36.
Calais, siege of, 155, 157 — 159.
Cambray, defence of, 166.
Cannon, 171, 172, 176, 177, 181.
Varieties of, in use in England and
Prance in the sixteenth century,
207, note.
Capendu, Raymond de, 42.
Carcassonne, early walls of, 3.
Of the Visigoths, 10.
*Plan of the Visigoth, or Roman walls,
17.
Siege of, in 1240, 37—42.
*Wood-work to defend a breach, 41.
*Plan as fortified by S. Louis, 48.
Fortifications of, 47 — 59.
*Plan and *bird's-eye view, 56, 57.
Castle of the twelfth century, 8.
*Pointed towers, or horns at, 121.
*Plan of the Narbonne gate, 126, 128,
131.
*Elevation of, 129.
Bishop's palace at, 51.
*Towers at, 11, 12, 13.
Carlovingian period, 24.
Casal, M. de, 254.
INDEX.
269
Casemated batten/, a vaulted chamber
with embrasures for cannon, 185,
195, 251.
Castellain of Cambrai, 114.
Catapult (trebuchet), 34, 36, 43, 63, 64,
66, 94, 115, 136.
Catherine, the Countess, 254.
Cats (chas), 34, 36, 51, 62, 94, 150.
Celts, fortifications of the, 4.
Chabannes, Jacques de, 167.
Chaillot, slopes of, 73.
Charlemagne, 24.
Charles the Bold, 201.
V. (of Prance), 75, 151.
VI., 165.
VII., 164, 166, 169, 171, 176,177.
■ VIII., 187, 200, 218.
Chateau-Gaillard, built by Richard I.,
and a proof of his talents as an en-
gineer, 80.
Completed in one j'ear, 81.
*Plan of castle aitd Environs, 82.
Importance of the po'sition, 83.
*Ground-plan of the castle, 85.
*^ t
*View of part of the wallj 89.
*View of the keep, 91.
Siege of the castle, 92—94.
Machicolations of, 137.
Chateau du Bois, 73.
Chateau-Thierry, 77.
Ch^teaudiin, donjon of, 105. >
Chtiitillon-sur-Seine, 77. I
Chauvigny in Poitou, 77, 98.
*Plan of the castle, 97.
Chemins de ronde, 25.
Chemise, or wall of counter-guard, 32,
98, 103, 105, 106, 108.
Cherbourg, siege of, 168, 169.
Circv/mvallation, the line of, 24, 93.
City, a Roman, 14, 15.
Clermont, Monseigneur, 169.
Coehom, M. de, 264.
Coitivi, Admiral de, 169.
Combourne, the castle of, 161.
Vicomte de, 162.
Compifegne, arbal^triers at, 165.
Cond6 in Brie, 114.
Constance, 123,
Constance, the lake of, 190.
Contravallation, the line of, 24, 29, 68, 93.
Corner-towers {tours du coin), 125.
Coucy, *plaa of the town and castle, 76.
Donjon of, 105.
*Plans of the castle and keep, 106 —
110.
Section of the keep, 111.
Plan of construction, 112.
Hoarding at, 136.
Coucy, Engoerrand III. de, 113.
Counterguard, wall of, at Bunaguil, 179.
Counterscarp, the external slope of the
ditch, as at Bonaguil, 179.
Cramequin, or handle of crossbow, 175.
Cr6cy, battle of, 78, 157, 166.
Crenelle (or creneau), 118, 139, 189, 249.
*With a wooden shutter, 118.
Crenellated parapets, 7.
Crfevecoeur, 114.
Croix-Boissee, the boulevard of, 167.
Calverin, a small cannon, used in the
sixteenth century, 207.
Curtain-walls, 61, 139, 141, 144, 145,
148, 176, 197, 206, 207, 208, 211.
*Plans of, 119, 120.
Cylinder, of wood, 250—252.
Da/rtz porcarissals, 45.
Derby, the Earl of, 158.
De ViUe, Chevalier, 253, 261, 262, 264.
Deville, M. A., 80.
Dieppe, town walls, 77.
Discharging-arches, 208.
Domestic Architecture in England, Some
Account of, 217.
Domfront, castle of, 98.
Donjon, the, 13, 31, 79, 80, 88, 90, 94,
96, 97, 98, 100, 104, 105, 106, 112,
151, 178, 179, 203, 221.
Douai, bastiUe of, 217.
Double palisades {cadafalcs dolliers),4&.
Drambridges, *from a wooden tower, 65,
132—134.
At Carcassonne, 132.
Ducerceau, Des plus excellents bUiments
de France, 113.
Chateaux royaux en France, 133.
270
INDEX.
Du Guesclin, Bertrand, 155, 160, 162,
163.
Dunbar, the battle of, 217.
Duras, the town of, 171.
Durer, Albert, 227, 245.
Edward I., 217.
Edward III., 157—159, 165.
Embrasures (fenestrals), 45, 245 — 252.
Formed with gabions, 212.
Empire, the Roman, 3.
Engineers (ingegneors), 33.
Engines of war, 33 — 36, 64.
England, engineers of, 27.
English archers, 161.
Army in the fifteenth centm'y, 161.
English, the, expelled from France by
improved artillery, 169.
Engaerraud III. de Coucy, 105, 113.
Ermenville, Gerard d', 42.
Errard de Biir-le-Duc, 253.
Etampes, *plan of the keep, 99.
Evreux, corps collected at, 81.
*Ezelfiel, figure of, from a MS. of the
eleventh century, 26.
Falaise, 77, 98 ; *plan of the cas le, 124.
Famars (Fanum Martis), 8, 9.
*Fascines, 36.
Fausses traies, 199, 215, 229, 231, 259,
264.
Feudal castles, 79,
Horsemen (gendarmerie), 79.
Feudalism of France, 78.
Fert6-Aucoul, la, 114.
Flanders, supplies, provisions, and mer-
chandize, 158.
Florence, 166, 219, 226.
Foot-soldier ifantassin), 78.
Forli, the fortress of, 254.
Port, Guill.iume, 38.
Forts, detached, use of, 28.
Fortalice (cMtelet), 92, 94.
Fouque, Victor, Recherches Hist, sur les
Corpor. des Archers, 166.
Fourneanx de mine, 259.
France, 27, 71, 72, 79, 245, 247, 265.
Feudal, 160.
France, the feudal nobility of, 162.
Francis I., 27, 151, 182, 187, 219, 237.
Frankfort-on-the-Maine, 233, 234.
Franks, the, 3, 24.
Free-archers (francs-a/rchers), 166.
French army, 154, 155.
Froissart's Chronicles, 27, 135, 137, 141,
153, 155, 161, 171.
Gabions, 212, 213.
Gaillon-on-the-Seine, 81.
* Galleries, plan of vaulted, 260.
Gallic tribes, 5.
Gallo-Romans, the, 2, 3, 23.
Gtronne, the, 155.
Gascon army, 161.
Gate, the prcetorian, decumana, princi-
palis dextra, principalis sinistra, 7.
Gate, the, 33, 34.
Gateways, 125 — 131.
Gaul, 2, 3, 23.
Genoese infantry, 153.
Bowmen, 154, 160.
Revolt, 254, 255.
Geraut d'Aniort, 38.
Germanic customs, 3.
German infantry, ] 53.
Germans, the, 5, 22, 23.
Germany, 3, 27.
Gisors, the town of, 80, 83.
Godefroy, T., Hist. d'Artus HI., 167,
169.
Graveillant, a suburb of Carcassonne, 38.
Greek fire, 170.
Grille, or iron railing, 106, 117, 130.
Guiart, Guillaume, 34.
Guillaume des Ormes, 37, 38.
Guines, the Count of, 156.
the comt^ of, 158.
Guise, town of, 77.
Guizot, M., 71.
Gunpowder, 27, 159.
Hainault, the Count of, 135, 136.
Ham, the cistle of, 203.
Harecourt, the castle of, 170.
Harfleur, the siege of, 168.
INDEX.
271
Henry II. (of France), 151.
IV., 261.
the ship, 169.
Hero of Constantinople, 168.
Hides, or skins used to cover wooden
ramparts, 5, *63, *65.
Soards, or hoarding, vide Sowrds.
SooJcs (Jalces mwrales), 5.
Born, ov pointed bastion, 121, 122, 127.
*Plans of, 121.
Hdtel de Vauvert, 74.
Hourdes (coated with loam or mortar),
136.
Sourds, hoarding, or hoards, 58, 59, 60,
61, 62, 64, 99, 104, 110, 116, 118,
119, 120, 131, 136—138, 141, 244,
246, 247. "
*View3 of, 61, 63, 65, 129.
*Plan of, 137.
*Section of, 139.
*View of, from a MS. of Proissart, 141.
*View of, at Nuremberg, 247.
Hull, town of, 217.
*Part of the fortifications, 218.
HySres, town of, 77.
Infantry, introduction of, 154.
Innspruck, town of, 223.
Issoudun, the treaty of, 80, 81.
Italian engineers, 237.
Wars, 259.
Italy, 27, 144, 197, 199, 218.
Jacqv£s, or brigands, 161.
Jean, Maitre, 170, 171.
John, King, 75.
the Good, 104, 161.
Joinville, describes the Greek fire, 170.
Jouy, gate of, at Provins, 122.
Kaiserstuhl-on-the-Khine, 190.
Kas, cTiax-ehateilz (or moveable towers),
156.
Kingston-upon-Hull, 217.
La Hogue, port of, 157.
Langeais, castle of, 98.
Langres, Koman walls at, 15, 16, 182 —
188, 203.
Langres, *plan of the town walls, 182.
♦Plans and sections of tower.^, 184,
185, 186.
Market-tower at, 187.
Languedoc, a brigand of, 161.
Laon, diocese of, 114.
Laval, Miehauld de, 165.
Leghorn, bastille of, 217.
Limousin, the, 161.
*Lines of approach, 63.
Lists (lices), 39.
Loches, town of, 77.
Castle of, 98.
*Plan of beaks at, 122.
Loire, the, 3.
*Loopholes, in a Roman tower, 20.
*In a curtain-wall, 61.
♦Arrangement of, at Carcassonne, 117,
118.
Lot (the river), 155.
Louis (Saint), 35, 37, 46, 49, 50, 58, 59.
XI., 72, 114, 164, 171, 182, 200.
XI I, 254.
XIII., 261.
Louvre (the), 73, 75, 76, 105.
Lubeck, city of, 217.
♦Fortifications of, 219.
Machiavelli, 218, 226, 237, 253, 255, 256.
Machicoulis (machicolation), 61, 110 —
112, 125, 127, 128, 130, 137, 140,
141, 144, 148, 150, 179, 187, 189,
203, 221.
Maggi (Girol), Delia Fortif della Citta,
259.
Magna Chmrta, 78.
Maine, the river, 232.
Ma/ngonels (mangoniaux), machines for
throwing stones, 36, 38.
* Mantelets, or wooden shields, 19, 36.
Marne, the river, 183.
Marseilles, siege of, described by Csesar,
18—22, 33.
*View of bridge at, 223.
Martin, M. Th. Henri, Morceanx dn
Texte d'Seron, &c., 168.
Martinets, engines for hurling stones,
156.
2/2
INDEX.
Mats formed of cables, used by the Eo-
mans to protect wooden towers, 19.
Maximilian, the tomb of, 223.
Meaux, Viscount of, 114.
Merian, Topog. de la Gaule, 226, 257.
Merlon, the solid part of a battlement,
separated by the crenelles or open-
ings : as at Bonaguil, 179.
Merovingian period, 24.
Metz, the city of, 257.
*View of the Mazelle gate at, 214.
*'View of the barbican, 216.
*Bird's-eye view of part of the forti-
fications, 258.
Meudon, 73.
Meulan, town of, 77.
The dungeon of, 163.
Michelet's Hist, of Prance, Deposition
of the Due d'Alen(;on, 166.
Middle Ages, armies of the, 25.
Milan, the castle of, 219, 255.
*Bird's-eye view, 220.
Military Dictionary, &c., 207.
Mine, the, 37.
Mines and countermines, 259.
Monastery of St. Martin-of-the-Fields,
74.
Montiirgis, town of, 77.
*Plan of the castle, 95.
*View of the entrance, 133.
Montfort-l'Amaury, town of, 77.
Simon de, 10, 32, 33, 34, 43—
45, 71.
Montlac, Blaise de, 205, 206.
Montmirail, 114.
Montrichard, castle of, 98.
Mattes, or mounds, 98.
Mouton {lanque d'oil), a battering-ram,
25, 33.
Munstero, Sebast., DeUa Cosmog. Uni-
versale, 229, 232.
Musculus, or rat, 20, 21.
Narbonnaise, the, 3, 44.
Gate at Carcassonne, 39, 49, 51.
*Plans, 126, 128, 131.
*View, 129.
Narbonne, city of, 3, 235.
Newcastle-on-Tyne, 141.
Nieulay, the bridge of, 157, 158.
Nile, the, 35.
Nogent-le-Rotrou, 98.
Norman castles, 31.
Normans in England, 145.
Normandy, 81, 90, 157, 169.
the Duke of (afterwards King
John), 155.
Nuremberg, 227, 228, 245, 249—251.
*Vie.v of parapet and hoarding at,
247.
*Embrasure of the Laufer gate at,
250, 251.
Nuys, fortifications of, 201, 202.
Oisy, 114.
Ora. ge, town of, 77, 145, 200.
*View of part of the fortifications, 201.
Oriental projectiles, 30.
Orillon, or oilong bastion, *view of, 235.
*Plan of, 236.
Oilcans, city of, 95, 167.
Siege of, 170, 171.
Osier parapets, 5.
Outworlcs, antemuralia, procastria, 1.
Paey-sur-Eure, 81.
*Palisades, at Carcassonne, 12.
Attaclied by battering-rams, 25.
Use of, 27, *41.
Parapets {chemins-de-ronde), 208, 209,
221.
Paris, 73—75, 145, 156, 157.
*Plan of, in the thirteenth century,
74.
*In the fourteenth, 75.
Imperial Library of, 25, 141, 171,
351.
Parker, Mr. J. H., 217.
Pavia, siege of, 27.
Perigueux, *plan and *view of tower at,
188, 189.
Fetraria, an engine for throwing stones
38, 39, 43.
Pliilip Augustus, 34, 73, 80, 81, 90, 92
—94, 114, 167.
the Bold, 47, 50, 123, 127, 132.
INDEX.
273
Philip de Valois, 72, 151, 155, 158, 159,
161, 162.
Picardy, march of the English through,
157.
Pierrefonds, the castle of, 141 — 144.
*View of part of the castle, 142.
*The same restored, 143.
Flatform, or cavalier, 222 — 225.
PocJcets (Jburneaux), 259.
Poitiers, the city of, 15, 78.
Portcullis, 127, 128, 129, 131.
Provence, the people of, 43.
Provins, the keep of, 99.
*Plan^f the keep, 100, 101.
*Elevation, 102.
*Sectioii, 103.
Paris gate at, 103.
Gate of Jouy at, 122.
Gate of St. John at, 122.
Puilaurues, Guillaume de, 10.
Eadulfus, Bishop, 46.
Mamparts, 209—211.
Wooden, 4 — 6.
But, the (mmculus), 20, 21, 33.
Ravelins, 243.
*Plans of, 244.
Kaymond, Count, 45.
Memparer, to, 209.
Betwrn, a {redeut), 127, *248.
Kheims, the city of, 114.
Rhine, the, 190.
Rhodez, gate, 40.
Sibaudequins, 176.
Richard Coeur-de-Lion, his military ge-
nius and talent as an engineer shewn
in the Chateau-Graillard, 80, 87,
94, 137.
Robert, King, 73, 74.
Roger de Lacy, 92 — 94.
Roman entrenched camps, 6 — 8.
*Wooden ramparts, 6.
Wooden towers, 8.
*Method of constructing walls, 9.
*Testudo, or tortoise, 6.
Fortifications, 9, 17.
*PIan of walls, 17.
*Section of tower, 20.
Roman soldiery, 5, 6, 21, 22.
Towns, 14.
Towers, 19, 20.
Romans, the, 3, 13, 17, 18, 19, 24, 29.
Rome, 3, 5, 15.
Roucy, Count of, 114.
Rouen, 81, 83, 90, 93, 168, 235.
Saint Ladre d'OrlSans, 167.
Louis, 123.
Omer, 158.
Pol, the Constable of, 203.
Sernin, 46.
Salisbury, the Earl of, 170.
Sangattes, the mount of, 158.
San-Giorgio, 219, 226.
San Michele, 237.
Saracens, the, 35.
Saracen wall, 40.
Saumur, the town of, 77.
Scala, Giov., Delle Fortif., 240, 241.
Scaling ladders [icTielades), 14'6.
Schaifliausen, fortress of, 203, 245.
*Fortifications of the bridge, 191.
*Plan of the citadel, 192.
*View of one of the bastions, 193.
*Plan of the bastion, 194.
*Plan and section of embrasures, 195.
*Plan of the platform, 196.
*Bird's-eye view of the fortress, 198.
Chermn-de-ronde, 191, 192.
Schayes, Mist, de I' Architecture en Sel-
gigue, 8.
Seine, the, 73, 81, 83, 84, 92, 94.
Septimunia, 3.
Shields (pavois), 150.
* Shutters, wooden, 118, 134.
Sienna, defence of, 205.
* View of part of the fortifications, 206.
Spiral ramp (or inclined way), 191, 195.
Springald, » kind of sling for throwing
stones, 158. (The same name was
afterwards applied to a kind of
cannon.)
Steln-on-the-Rhine, 190.
Stone merlons, 204, 205.
Sylvestre, Vue des Maisons Soyales et
rules, 151.
274
INDEX.
Takes, or incUne, 204.
Tancarville, the Count of, 156.
*Tapeou, or shutter, 134, 135.
Temple, the, 74, 75.
Tenailles, 244.
Termes, Olivier de, 38.
*Testwdo, the Roman, 6.
Timber hoards, or hoardincf, 136 — 139,
141, 149.
Toeni-on-the-Seine, 92.
Topographie de la Gaule, 182.
*Tortoise, the (testudo), 5, 6, 168.
Toulouse, ramparts of the Visigoths, 3.
Besieged by Simon de Moutfort, 44.
Defended chiefly by timber-works, 45,
71.
Chateau Narbonnais at, 9.
Place du Salin, 10.
Tour-de-ronde, 102.
Tournay, the men of, 158.
Towers, the Roman mode of bnilJing,
19.
Section of one in construction, 20.
Of wood covered with skins, at Bourges,
5.
Towers on rollers {haffraiz), 33.
Trajan's column, 4, 6, 8.
Traverses, 225.
Trebonius, C, 18.
Treitzsaurwen, Mark, Le Hoi Sage,
211.
Treneavel, 37, 46, 47.
Trenches, 36, 167, 168.
With gabions, 213.
Tresau, Tour du, 49, 54.
Troyes, fortifications of, repaired in 1541,
237.
*PIan of one of the bastions, 238.
Tnbs, or semals, 45.
Turldsh engines, 31.
Feiraria, 38.
Vauhan, 253, 257, 261, 264.
Vegetius, 7, 10.
Vemon-on-the-Seine, 81, 83.
Verona, fortifications of, 223.
*View of a cavalier on a, bastion at,
224.
Fortified by San Michele, 237.
Vexin territory, the, 80.
Villeneuve d'Agen, 177.
le-Roi, 122.
*Vincenne3, 133.
Plan of the castle, 152.
Visigoths in the fifth century, extent
of their dominion, 3. ^
Fortifications of the, at Carcassonne,
10.
Towns of, 16.
*Planof town, 17.
Wa'ls of town, 37.
Walls repaired, 47.
Towers of, 50.
Vitruvius, 8.
Voisin, Pierre de, 42.
Wallia, 3.
William the Breton, 90, 94.
Wooden *ramparts, protected by hides,
5.
Scaffoldings, 6, 45,71, see also Hourds.
*Roman work, 4.
German work, 6.
*Tower3 on Roman walls, 8.
*Palisades, at Carcassonne, 12.
*Defence3 of a breach, 41.
*Hoarding, 61.
*Plan of, 137.
*Door of a bastion, 67.
*Shutter, hanging, 12, 118.
Suspended, 134.
*0n a pivot, 134.
*Ramparts, 211.
J)rintcb Irg gEESfjrs. ^iirlitr, €oriim;«I«t, 0«forb.
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By the Editor of "THE GLOSSARY OF AECHITECTURE."
Vol. I.— from WILLIAM I. TO EDWARD I.
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NOTICES OF THE PRESS.
" The late Mr. Hudson Turner's valuable and beautiful work on the Domestic Architec-
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Vol. IIL— from RICHARD II. TO HENRY VIII.
(OE THE PEKPENDICULAB, STYLE.)
" The whole history, as traced out by Mr. Parker, shews the absurdity of the vulgar
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•mediajval architects, like the architects of every other good period. Christian or heathen,
built their rehgious buildings in exactly the same style as their secular ones. They built
both in the only style they knew of, at least the only one they could work in — namely,
the style of their own day. A church, a house, a, castle, of the same date, are very dif-
ferent things in outline and proportion — that is the natural result of their several pur-
poses I but in mere style, in mere architectural forms, they are exactly the same.
" It is a work of thorough research and first-rate authority on a deeply interesting and
important subject." — Saturday Review, Ntm, 26, 1859.
" The unanimous approval with which these interesting, learned, and richly-illustrated
volumes have been received in all quarters since their recent pubhoation, almost renders
unnecessary any criticism on our part Few who know anything at all of the
subject are ignorant of Mr. Parker's 'Glossary,' published more than twenty years ago.
JDOMESTIO ABGHITECTURE, Sfc.
NOTICES OF THE THIRD VOLUME -^continued).
and which led the way to the improvements which late years have witnessed, arousing the
attention of the clergy and educated classes generally to the merits and beauties of the
ecclesiastical structures of the middle ages by pictorial representations of the char,ac-
teristic details of the buildings of each century. The 'Glossary' was an attempt to
apply Riokman's system, and assign dates to several Jaundreds of examples, by comparison
of the style only, where historical dates were not forthcoming. The principle thus applied
has been found true in the great majority of instances, and has been accepted as a rule by
all subssquent students of Gothic
" We must not forget to add that this work gives many interesting documents, e.g., li-
cences to crenellate, inventories of furniture, and old accounts. The light thrown upon
Enghsh domestic life in the middle ages is very great, and the beautiful Illustrations which
are so profusely scattered through the work greatly enhance its va ue both as a book of
reference and a, hbrary companion, which the owner wiU seldom be tired of taking up.
The thanks of all who are fortunate enough to possess houses of medieval date are due
to Mr. Parker's learned efforts to perpetuate their memory, and to recall attention to their
history and their value. Most useful will hxve been his labours if they stir up a zeal for
the preservation of existing remains, and a taste for the adoption of Gothic in the erec-
tion of future buildings of importance, whether in the metropolis or elsewhere. " — Morning
Post, Jan. i, 1860.
"It is a rather happy coincidence that, at a time when it is more than ever important
for the partisans of our own indigenous style to stand their ground, or rather to take a
step in advance in behalf of its claim to universality of application, a book has just been
completed which cannot but have a powerful effect in guiding and informing their efforts
After an interval of six or seven years, Mr. J. H. Parker, the well-known editor of the
'Glossary of Architecture, 'has completed, by the publication of two final volumes, the
' Account of the Domestic Architecture of Mediaeval England,' which he began in 1851, in
conjunction with the late Mr. Hudson Turner. The whole series affords an admirable
illustration of its subject from the twelfth to the sixteenth century. The text, richly gar-
nished with documentary evidences gathered from every source with rare skiU and dili-
gence, is stiU more profusely embellished with woodcuts and engravings. The study of
the plates alone, without reference to the letter-press, would afford any one a tolerable
idea of what the secular and domestic architeotiu-e of our forefathers was in chronological
order from the time of the Conquest to that of Elizabeth It is now more
than twenty years since Mr. Parker pubUshed the first edition of his well-known ' Glossary
of Architecture," and he faMy takes credit to himself for having contributed largely to
the late revival of the Pointed style in its application to ecclesiastical structures. No one
will dispute that this and other similar publications have materially helped forward the
movement by famiharizing the public with the details of the style, and by awaking general
attention to the arohseological value of what has been preserved of mediaeval buUdings,"—
Bentley's Quarterly Review, January, 1860.
" People do not realise the fact that Gothic ever was a prevalent civil style. Mr. Par-
ker's beautiful volumes on EngUsh Domestic Architectm-e come in most opportunely to
drive away this error. His book opens to us a vast store of exquisite remains of medieval
civil architecture, still existing in our own country, and gives some glimpses of the far
richer stores which exist in other lands. The popular ignorance on this subject is truly
amazing. Our land is stUl studded with beautiful frag-ments of mediajval domestic art ;
only the difBoulty is, to make people believe that they are domestic,"— jTAe ]\^alionai
Revieti), January, 1860.
C^^ Gentleman's Paga^hu,
>4
<
o
02
ST. JOHN'S GATE, CLEKKENWEtL,
THE BESrDENOB OF CAVE, THE POimDEB OE THE GEHTLBMAN'S MAGAZINE 1731,
(m ITS PBESENT STATE, JUNE, 1856.)
WITH the year of our Lord 1869, Sylvanus Tfrlam, closed his
207th volume, and the 128th year of his literary existence.
This is a length of days that, so far as he knows, has never before been
attained by a Journalist ; but he ventures to affirm, with thankfulness as
well as some degree of self-complacency, that he is still in a green old
age, and that to his thinking the time is yet very distant when, to borrow
the words of one of his earliest and most valued friends, it may be said
of him —
" Superfluous lags the veteran on the stage."
The times, it is readily allowed, have greatly changed since Sylvanus
Urban first solicited public attention, but it may be fairly doubted whether
the tastes and habits of thought of the educated classes to whom he ad-
dresses himself have changed in a like degree. Hence he does not fear
that History and Antiquities, in their widest sense, can ever become un-
palatable to them, but, on the contrary, he is glad to mark an increased
avidity in pursuing such studies. This is a state of things that he thinks he
may claim a considerable share in bringing about, and the steady progress
of which he is desirous of forwarding by all available means. He alludes
to the growing appreciation of the Past, as the key to the understanding
of the Present, and (in a sense) of the Future, as testified by the forma-
tion of Archaeological and Literary Societies, which have already achieved
much good, and may do still more ; and as a means to that end, he devotes
THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE.
a portion of his pages every month, under the title of " Anxiqitaeiah'
AND LiTEEAEX Iktblhgekcee," to a record of their progress.
Sylvanus Urban therefore ventures to suggest to the Councils of such
Societies, that if hrief reports of their proceedings and publications are
systematically supplied to the Gentleman's Magazine, wlSfere they will
be always highly acceptable, an interchange of knowledge an<? good offices
may thus be established between learned bodies in the most distant parts
of the Empire — an interchange that does not now exist, but the want of
which few will be found to deny.
Thanks to the enlightened views of the present Head of the Record
Service, materials of extreme importance to the historical student are now
freely open to all qualified inquirers who can repair to their place of de-
posit ; but Sylvanus Urban, to meet the views of his subscribers in distant
parts of the country, prints Oeiginal Documents, selected with care
from the Public Record Office, accompanied b}' summaries or comments
as each particular case may require ; and to these, the co-operation of
valued friends enables him to add many rare pieces from private Col-
lections, which might otherwise never be printed.
It has ever been the desire of Sylvanus Urban to see his Coeeesfon-
DENCE a leading feature in his pages, and he has had the gi-atification of
reckoning many of the most erudite men of the time as his fellow-workers,
who have, through him, conveyed an invaluable amount of knowledge to
the world. He invites those of the present day to imitate them. Another
important feature has been, and will be, the Obitttaet, to the completeness
of which he requests friends or relatives to contribute by communicating
fitting notices of eminent persons daily removed by the hand of death from
among us. He believes that he shall not be disappointed in the extent of
this friendly co-operation, but that, on the contrary, the increasing number
of his contributors will render the motto that he has so long borne more
than ever applicable : —
" H plurihus TJnum"
In conclusion, Sylvanus Urban requests his Correspondents to append.
their addresses, not, unless agreeable, for publication, but in order that he
may have the pleasure of forwarding to them a copy of the Gentleman's
Magazine containing their communications.
OXFORD AND LONDON: J. H. AND J. PARKER.
All Communications to be addressed to Ma. Uuban, 377, Straxd, W.C.
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